The Devil's Obsession
by wildlightning
Summary: Danny is in love with Vicky Rodriguez, his girlfriend of two years, and he's planning to propose to her on Valentine's Day. But Vicky's been receiving flowers and other gifts from a secret admirer that have turned strange and dark. What happens when her secret admirer kidnaps Vicky and reveals himself as an enemy from Danny's past? Will Danny be able to save the love of his life?
1. Chapter One-The Heart's Desire

_The Devil's Obsession_

_**Author's Note:**_ I do not own Without a Trace or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created myself. So, please do not attempt to sue me as this story is for entertainment purposes only.

_**Summary:**_ Danny is in love with Nurse Vicky Rodriguez, his girlfriend of two years, and he's planning to propose to her on Valentine's Day. But all is not well with Vicky since she's been receiving flowers and other gifts from a secret admirer that started off innocent enough yet have turned stranger and darker. What happens when her secret admirer kidnaps Vicky and reveals his true identity as an old enemy from Danny's past that is out for revenge? Will Danny be able to rescue the love of his life or will he have to bury her and live with the reality that even with all of his connections in the FBI, he couldn't do anything to save Vicky?

**Chapter One:****The Heart's Desire**

_**FBI Headquarters…**_

_**Monday morning, 9:00 AM**_

Danny sat in the bullpen working on the final reports for several recently closed cases. He did his best to concentrate on his work but it was hopeless. His mind was somewhere else. His mind was on the lovely Vicky Rodriguez, a registered nurse at St. Luke's Hospital and his girlfriend of two years. Vicky was the love of his life. She was compassionate, funny, loving and she was always there for him when Danny needed a shoulder to cry on or ears to listen when things weren't going right for him. Vicky was always there for him, never judging him wrongly, even when he wasn't at his best.

Danny loved her and knew that he couldn't let Vicky go. So, he'd made the decision six months ago that he was going to choose the most romantic day of the year and propose to Vicky on Valentine's Day. Now, he sat at his desk and for the umpteenth time that day, he removed the small velvet box from his suit breast pocket and opened it. Five days. In five days, he would ask Vicky, the love of his life, to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife in holy matrimony.

Martin stood at the coffee desk pouring steaming hot coffee into his and Danny's mugs and couldn't stop himself from smiling in amusement at his best friend's demeanor. He'd been observing Danny all morning and now chuckled amused as he made his way to Danny's desk. His best friend was going to propose to his girlfriend Vicky five days from now. He'd been making fun of Danny, telling him that she had him whipped.

The fact was, however, that he really liked Vicky. The entire team liked Vicky, especially him. Vicky was the nurse who'd taken care of him and Danny after they were rescued from the grasps of Bobby Carr and his men, when they'd tortured them in the woods, three years ago. She nursed them back to health when they were still hospitalized together. Then, when Martin was released, Danny had all of Vicky's attention for himself because he didn't have to compete with Martin's rugged good looks anymore.

Danny had fallen for Vicky while he was in the hospital but she refused to take him seriously. That is, until Vivian, Jack and Jeff had made a bet that she wouldn't go out with him. The guys had lost that bet when she wheeled Danny to the car and gave him her card. Since he wasn't her patient anymore, she wouldn't be breaking any rules. They went out

that very same week and from that day on, Vicky and Danny had become inseparable. On her days off, she'd come to the office and would take Danny to lunch. Other times, she'd spend time outside of work with Danny and the rest of the team.

She was a great, down to earth, gal with a big heart who made Danny happy and that's what was important to him and everyone else who knew and cared for Danny. Danny had suffered a lot throughout his life and deserved to be happy. He'd found that happiness with Vicky and Martin was going to do everything humanly possible to make sure that everything turned out perfect, without a hitch.

Martin picked up the steaming mugs of hot coffee and walked to his partner's desk, chuckling amused when he saw that Danny was still a nervous wreck.

"Calm down and breathe, brother. What? Did you change your mind about proposing to Vicky? Everything is ready for Saturday evening, okay; the music, the flowers, the private reservation, the ring." Martin said with a bright smile as he handed Danny a hot mug of coffee and they both took a sip from their mugs.

"I just want everything to be perfect. I love Vicky and I want to spend the rest of my life making her as happy as she's made me. I don't want anything to go wrong." Danny said with a heavy sigh as he looked at the brilliantly gleaming diamond engagement ring staring back at him from its place in the velvet box.

"Everything is going to be perfect and she's going to say yes. When she does, you're going to go get married and I'm going to be your best man, of course. Then, when you get married and have all of those babies running around, Uncle Marty and all of their aunts and uncles will be there to spoil them." Martin said with an amused smile and Danny couldn't help but laugh at Martin's words.

_**Saint Luke's Hospital, 1:00 PM…**_

_**Vicky Rodriguez's Job…**_

"Hey, Vicky, honey. That boyfriend of yours must really love you. You just got another delivery. There are flowers and balloons this time and there's also a gift box." Denise Harrison, Vicky's boss, said kindly as she pointed to the large flower arrangement and gift-wrapped box with a big red bow.

Instead of being happy or excited, Vicky was worried. She knew that the flowers weren't from Danny. Over the last two months, she'd been receiving anonymous gifts, weekly. In the beginning, they were innocent, just flowers, candy and teddy bears. She wanted to thank Danny for the beautiful gesture but when she spoke to Danny and he assured her that he hadn't sent the gifts, she let it go, figuring that the gifts would stop. But they hadn't. In fact, they were getting stranger and more disturbing. The previous week, she'd received flowers and men's underwear. So, she didn't want to open the gift because she was afraid of what she would find inside. Vicky opened the box and inside was beautiful lingerie and a card.

Vicky read the card and gasped fearfully. "_Soon, my love. Soon," _Vicky read and gasped fearfully as she dropped the box on the floor in horror.

"Sweetheart, are you okay? What's wrong?" Denise asked concerned as she took a hold of Vicky before she could fall.

"Danny didn't send me that. Somebody's been stalking me every week for the last two months. At first, I thought it was just Danny sending me the flowers but when I talked to him, he swore that he didn't send anything. First it seemed innocent, but then last week I started receiving disturbing things like men's underwear and now this." Vicky cried upset and her coworkers looked at her concerned.

"Is there anything that we can do for you, honey? Whatever you need, we're here." Denise, Vicky's boss and friend said kindly but concerned.

"I need to call Danny." Vicky cried upset as she retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and attempted to dial Danny's number with violently shaking hands but couldn't.

"Calm down and breathe, honey. You're safe here. We're not going to let anything happen to you." Denise said compassionately as she grabbed Vicky's phone and dialed Danny's number.

"Good afternoon, sweet lips. What can I do for you?" Danny said with a smile and Special Agent Jeff Carmichael and Martin mocked him.

"Danny, it's Denise. We need to talk." Denise said concerned.

"What happened to Vicky? Why do you have her phone?" Danny asked seriously concerned and Martin and Jeff immediately grew concerned as they stopped mocking him and listened intently to Danny and the conversation he was having.

"She's here but she's too upset to talk. We're trying to calm her down." Denise said concerned.

"What happened? Why is she upset?" Danny said calmly but fearfully.

"She just got a floral arrangement here at the hospital. We thought it was you who'd sent it but she said that someone has been sending her strange gifts for the last two months." Denise said concerned. "Hold on. She wants to talk to you." She said kindly and then gave Vicky her phone.

"Vicky, talk to me, honey. What's going on? What happened?" Danny said caringly but very concerned.

"I just got another delivery, Danny. They sent flowers, balloons, lingerie and a card. The card reads _'Soon, my love. Soon.'_. Danny, I'm so scared. What is going on? Who's doing all of this? Why are they coming after me?" Vicky cried fearfully as she shook and her coworkers tried to comfort her.

"Shhh. Don't be scared, baby. I'm going to go to the hospital right now. Don't touch anything and don't move from there. Do you understand, beautiful? I'm going to talk to Jack right now and we're going to find out who this sick freak is. Just stay right there with Denise and the others for now. I'll be there soon, beautiful. I love you." Danny said lovingly and then ended the call.

"What's wrong with Vicky, Danny?" Martin asked concerned.

"What can we do to help?" Jeff asked concerned.

"She got another package from a damn stalker. At first, it was harmless stuff like flowers and a teddy bear. But now the sick freak sent her lingerie and a card reading 'Soon, my love. Soon.'. Then, last week, they sent her flowers and men's underwear to the house. I'm going to find out of who the hell is doing this. She's scared to death right now. I don't want her to leave the hospital without me." Danny said somewhat angrily as he grabbed his gun, walked to Jack's office and knocked on his door.

"Come in." Jack said kindly as he sat writing at his desk and Danny, Martin and Jeff entered the office. "What can I do for you?" Jack said with an amused smile, he was in a strangely good mood.

"Jack, I need to get to the hospital. Vicky's boss just called me…," Danny said concerned and when on to tell Jack everything that had been going on the last two months.

"Why didn't you say anything to us before, Danny? You know how serious or deadly a stalking case can become. Have you tried to find out who the sender is?" Jack said somewhat sternly.

"I already tried that but all they is that it's a white male, wears a baseball cap and very dark shades. Other than that, they don't have enough for a sketch and he pays cash every time." Danny said frustrated and his phone rang. "Hello?" He said somewhat angrily and then heard music on his phone, followed by low evil laughter that made the hairs on his hair stand on end, right before the call ended.

"Was it Vicky?" Jack asked seriously but Danny shook his head as he began feeling sick to his stomach.

"Nobody spoke. They just laughed low and played music in the background." Danny said shaken. He had the sense that he'd heard that eerie music before but he couldn't remember where or when he'd heard it.

"We better get to the hospital right now. Jeff, I want you and Martin to see what you can find out from the delivery service. See if they have any videos of him and canvas the surrounding area to see if anyone knows who this guy is or if they've seen him with someone else. Let's go." Jack said seriously as Danny gave Jeff a paper with the delivery service's number and address and they went their separate ways, arriving at the hospital twenty minutes later.

_**Saint Luke's Hospital, 1:30 PM…**_

_**7**__**th**__** Floor Nurses Station…**_

Danny and Jack made their way up tothe 7th Floor where Vicky worked. Danny was anxious ever since he'd received that eerie phone call. Where had he heard that haunting melody before? He tried to stop thinking about it for the moment. Right now, all that mattered was making sure that Vicky was safe and that they caught the disturbed person who was doing all of this.

Danny and Jack walked up to the nurses' desk but Danny instantly became somewhat fearful when he saw Vicky's boss but didn't see any sign of Vicky anywhere. Where was she? He'd warned her that under no circumstances should she leave the safety of the nurses' station.

"Where's Vicky?" Danny asked somewhat gruffly out of fear.

"Calm down, sweetie. Several doctors that work with us took her into a private room so that she could calm down. If you'll follow me, I'll take you to her right now." Denise said kindly.

"Where are the flowers and gifts that she got? Did anybody touch them?" Jack said gruffly.

"No one has touched anything since Vicky last spoke with Danny. It's still here. See?" Denise said respectfully as she pointed to the nurses' desk where the gifts were.

"All right. I don't want anyone touching any of this. We have to get this analyzed." Jack said seriously as he dialed a number and called an evidence tech to pick up the items.

"Take us to her. Now," Jack said seriously and Denise led them to a private family room where Vicky now sat with several doctors.

As soon as Vicky saw Danny, she cried very emotionally and fearfully as she flung herself into his open arms. Danny embraced her tightly and sighed heavily. He couldn't bear to see her suffering like this and some twisted animal was taking immense pleasure in terrorizing her.

"Shhh. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. We're going to find out who's calling me and sending you all this garbage." Danny said seriously but lovingly.

"Wait. What do you mean someone called you, Danny?" Vicky cried fearfully and Danny held her tighter.

"Don't worry about that, honey. I already have evidence techs running a trace on Danny's phone. They're going to try to find out where the calls are coming from and they're also going to pick up what was sent here. Right now, though, I need to know if someone's called your phone and when." Jack said compassionately as he held Vicky's hands in his own.

"Someone keeps calling my phone but the only thing on the other end is some weird music but no one answers." Vicky sniffled crying as she shook and Danny held her tighter.

"I know that you're afraid, honey, but you need to calm down." Dr. Aaron Casey said kindly as he checked Vicky's vitals.

"Who are you?" Danny said somewhat angrily as he held Vicky protectively.

"Don't speak to him like that, Danny. These are Dr. Aaron Casey, Dr. Michael Cox and Dr. Adam Wes. They work here. Dr. Casey's a Psychiatrist." Vicky cried softly and Dr. Wes fed her a cup of ice cold water, allowing her to calm down several minutes later.

"Vicky, Danny just told us now what's been going on with this stalker. Why didn't you two say anything when this first began? What happened to the other things that were sent to you?" Jack said a bit sternly but kindly.

"When I realized that Danny hadn't sent the first flowers or teddy bears, I got creeped out and threw them in the garbage. But the gifts keep coming every week. Last week someone sent me men's underwear and now this. Why is someone doing this?" Vicky asked upset and Danny held her tighter.

"I don't know, honey, but we're trying to figure it out. For now, you're coming back to the office with us. So, get your things." Jack said caringly as he held her hand.

"All of my belongings are in my locker inside of the nurses' locker room." Vicky explained tiredly as she raked a shaky hand through her hair.

"Come on. We're not going to leave you alone." Danny said with conviction as he possessively put his arm around Vicky's waist and they walked toward the locker room.

"I'm sorry but you're going to have to stay out here. Only medical personnel are allowed in the locker room." Dr. Casey said seriously and Danny looked at him angrily.

"There's a sick psychopath after her, in case haven't noticed. If you think that I'm going to leave her alone, you're out…" Danny said calmly but viciously as he glared at the doctor but Jack and Vicky cut him off.

"Danny," Jack and Vicky chastised sternly.

"Danny, honey, you need to calm down. I know that you're afraid but you can't talk to Dr. Casey like that, okay. He's not the one causing all of this. Now, please calm down and cool off. Dr. Casey's right. Only medical personnel are allowed inside the locker room. I don't want to lose my job so please stay out here. I'll be okay going inside the locker room alone. I promise." Vicky said somewhat sternly but caringly and Danny sighed frustrated, he didn't want to leave her anywhere alone, knowing that there was possibly a deranged lunatic on the loose.

"You're not going to lose your job, honey. Go get your things and you can leave with the gentlemen, okay. We'll keep them company. It's okay." Dr. Casey said compassionately as he gently squeezed her arm.

"I'll be right back. Excuse me." Vicky said softly as she went inside the locker room.

Danny was angry. Who did this Casey guy think he was? He didn't like the pompous jerk one bit and neither did he appreciate the fact that he kept touching his girlfriend Vicky. Danny was going to tell Dr. Casey as much, when all a sudden, Vicky let out a sickening, bloodcurdling scream that sent a cold chill down everyone's spines.


	2. Chapter Two: Hidden Secrets

_The Devil's Obsession_

_**Author's Note:**_ I do not own Without a Trace or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created myself. So, please do not attempt to sue me as this story is for entertainment purposes only.

_**Chapter Two: Hidden Secrets**_

Danny sighed frustrated; he didn't want to leave Vicky anywhere alone knowing that there was possibly a deranged lunatic on the loose.

"You're not going to lose your job, honey. Go get your things and you can leave with the gentlemen, okay. We'll keep them company. It's okay." Dr. Casey said compassionately as he gently squeezed her arm.

"I'll be right back. Excuse me." Vicky said softly as she went inside the locker room.

Danny was angry. Who did this Casey guy think he was? He didn't like the pompous jerk one bit and neither did he appreciate the fact that he kept touching his girlfriend Vicky. Danny was going to tell Dr. Casey as much, when all of a sudden, Vicky let out a sickening, bloodcurdling scream that sent a cold chill down everyone's spines.

Danny's heart leapt from his chest when he heard Vicky's bloodcurdling screams. He was the first one to run into the locker room but what he saw momentarily stopped him in his tracks; that is, until he finally reacted and embraced Vicky protectively tight as he held the back of her head and breathed heavily.

Everyone gasped horrified at the sight before them. Inside of Vicky's locker was a bloody skull with a human tongue in the crevice of the skull's mouth. On it, a picture of Danny laid on the skull's face with the words _'__**Say Goodbye, RAT**__," _written in blood. That wasn't the only disturbing surprise that awaited Vicky, however. Hanging from a strand of small intestines inside of the locker was a bloody doll with exposed internal organs. Attached to the doll was a recent picture of Vicky drinking coffee in the hospital cafeteria with several coworkers. The crimson words written on the picture gave an insight into this deranged lunatic's mindset, '_**He can't have you, my love. You belong to me alone and no one else.**_'

Jack was furious as he took a picture of Vicky's vandalized locker and sent it to someone. Less than a minute later, his phone rang and he answered the call.

"Malone," Jack barked angrily into his phone.

"Jack, what the hell is that mess?" Jeff asked seriously.

"I want an ERT unit over here right now. That's Vicky's locker. I want this mess out of here and taken to the lab. I want prints and whatever the hell else they can get. Did you canvas the flower shop and surrounding area? Has anyone seen him or knows who the hell he is? I want this lunatic in custody." Jack barked angrily into his phone.

"The only video we have of the suspect shows exactly what they told Danny at the flower shop. He's a Caucasian male, thin built, approximately 180 lbs, looks to be 6 feet 2 inches, wearing a novelty FBI ball cap and dark sunglasses. We've canvassed the area and no one claims to know him. Either someone knows this guy and is too afraid to say anything or he's not a regular in the area." Jeff said seriously.

"We're heading over to the hospital now. I'll call ERT out there right now." Martin said seriously and they ended the call.

"I don't want anybody near these lockers. If you have belongings in there, you're going to have to wait until we clear the area." Jack said seriously and with a harsh look on his face.

Vicky was so upset and frightened that she began shaking violently and breathing very rapidly. Danny held her tighter but that wasn't enough to help her as Vicky's body went lax and she gave in to complete darkness.

"Vicky? Vicky!" Danny said fearfully.

"She can't hear you. She collapsed. Follow me so that we can treat her." Dr. Adam Wes said seriously concerned as he led the way to a private room and Danny, Dr. Cox and Dr. Wes followed him; Jack, however, stayed behind in the locker room to guard it until the ERT got there. He didn't want anyone to tamper with any evidence the locker may hold.

Dr. Wes led them into a private family room and began treating Vicky for fifteen minutes until Vicky's vitals stabilized and she began groaning and thrashing weakly.

"Vicky? Can you hear me? Look at me, honey. It's Dr. Wes. You're in the hospital. You fainted and we're taking care of you, hon." He said compassionately but also concerned and Vicky weakly cried fearfully and very emotionally. Who was this psychopath coming after her and why? Vicky was a sweet girl with a big heart who never hurt anyone. She didn't deserve what was happening to her.

"Please don't cry like that, sweetie. I promise you that I'm going to find out who this sick freak is. When I do, I'm going to make his sorry ass pay for everything he's done to you." Danny said through gritted teeth as he tightly held Vicky's hand and she cried more as she struggled to get up.

"Don't move, sweetie. You're hooked up to some oxygen. You're going to stay here for a little while and then we'll let you go home with Agent Taylor." Dr. Casey said compassionately as he soothed Vicky's head. "Honey, how long has this been happening?" He asked concerned.

"Two months. It didn't start out this bad but it's gotten worse. Someone started sending me flowers and a teddy bear and I thought it was from Danny but he swore to me that he didn't. We thought it wouldn't happen anymore but it has, every week. Every week I get sent the same flowers, teddy bears and weird notes. Then, last week, they sent me men's underwear and now this." Vicky weakly cried emotionally and Dr. Casey, Dr. Cox and Dr. Wes shared a concerned look.

"Agent Taylor, we need to speak privately. Please come with me." Dr. Casey said somewhat seriously and Danny glared at him. "If you want to help Vicky, then you'll come with me." He said seriously.

"I'm not leaving her alone. Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her." Danny said through gritted teeth.

"Go with him, Agent Taylor. We'll stay here with Vicky and we won't leave her alone for a second. But right now, it's very important that you talk privately." Dr. Cox said kindly but Danny refused to let go of Vicky's hands.

All of a sudden, a knock came to the door and Dr. Casey opened the door. It was Martin and Jeff. As soon as Danny saw them, he sighed heavily in relief and shook their hands in brotherhood grips. They were his family and the only people right now that he trusted to look after Vicky.

"Hey, how are you two doing?" Martin said kindly as they embraced and kissed Vicky and she cried more upset as she covered her face. "Don't worry about anything, honey. We're not going to let anything happen to you. We're already investigating this and we're going to bring this whack job to justice." He said caringly and he held, soothed and kissed one of Vicky's hands and Jeff held the other.

"Don't be afraid, darlin'. That's exactly what this creep wants. He wants to see you afraid, crying and rattled. Don't give him that power over you. I know that it's hard but you have to be strong, okay. We're going to find this nut and make sure that he pays for putting you through this." Jeff said with conviction as he tightly held Vicky's hand and softly soothed her face.

"Agent Taylor, it's very important that we speak privately. Your friends are here now and they can look after Vicky if that's what you'd like." Dr. Casey said in a no nonsense tone, leading Danny to believe that there was a very compelling reason why this man wanted to talk to him without Vicky in the room.

"What's going on, Dr. Casey? Why do you want to talk to Danny in private? If this is about me, I have a right to hear it too. I have a right to know what's going on." Vicky cried emotionally and upset and Dr. Cox soothed her head.

"Shhh. It's nothing that you should worry yourself silly with, you curious little monkey. Everything is going to be okay. I promise," Dr. Cox said kindly as he soothed Vicky's head.

Dr. Michael Cox had known Vicky since she began working at the hospital at the young age of twenty-one and he'd taken a liking to her right away, everyone had. He, Dr. Casey and Dr. Wes immediately took her under their wings and became her mentors. Vicky flourished from a frightened girl, unsure of herself and into a strong, confident, hardworking, young woman unafraid of any challenges that arose. Vicky was a sweet, compassionate young lady and she didn't deserve to be plagued by what Dr. Casey had to tell her boyfriend, Agent Taylor. That is why Dr. Casey continued to insist that they needed to speak privately. If Vicky knew what had happened, it would destroy her and she'd never want to work in the hospital again.

"Martin, Jeff, please stay with Vicky and don't let her out your sight for a second. No one, except for our team, enters this room. Got it?" Danny said seriously through gritted teeth, he knew he sounded like a jerk, but it was the only thing he could think of to stop himself from breaking down. Although he wouldn't admit it aloud to anyone, what he saw in that locker had rattled him. He needed to get it together, he knew that. He was an FBI Agent and he dealt with grizzly scenes all the time and he never lost control. This, however, was infinitely worse because the 'victim' was the love of his life. "Let's go." He said calmly but angrily and he and Dr. Casey left the room.

"Drink some water, kiddo. Here you go." Dr. Wes said kindly as he gently fed Vicky some water.

"Who's doing this to me? I haven't hurt anyone. Not…not that I know of. Or…have I? Did I hurt someone and didn't realize it?" Vicky cried upset and Dr. Wes quieted her as he gently put a finger on her lips, causing Martin and Jeff to look at him harshly but that didn't deter him.

"Shhh. Don't say that and don't even think it, honey. None of this is your fault. The only one to blame is the sick person doing all of this. You haven't hurt anybody." Dr. Wes said kindly as he removed his finger from her lips.

"Your friend is right, kiddo. I know how scared you are but you're safe. So, don't let that twisted freak rattle you like this." Dr. Cox said caringly and then removed a packet from his lab coat. "I want you to take this." He said kindly but Vicky shook her head at the medication offered. "Come on. Don't tell me no. This is going to help you to calm down and rest a little while if you want to. Otherwise, you can stay awake but relaxed. Come on, bunny. Let us help you." He said with a kind smile and Vicky sniffled crying as she swallowed the medication and water offered.

"I'd like a word with you, Doctor. Now," Jeff said seriously and Dr. Cox nodded. "We'll be right back, beautiful. We'll be right outside the door but Marty's going to stay with you for now, okay." He told Vicky with a smile and she nodded sniffling emotionally and they left the room. "Do you want to tell me what that behavior with Ms. Rodriguez was about?" He said seriously but Dr. Cox remained calm.

"I know that you're trying to help Vicky but I'd ask that you and your colleagues not disrespect us like you're doing. There's no ulterior motive or perverse reason why we treat Vicky like we do. Everyone here cares for her and we've looked out for her safety and well-being since she began working here ten years ago. She doesn't have a family, so we all look out for her. We don't want anything to ruin Vicky. That's why my colleague Dr. Casey wanted to speak with Agent Taylor in private." Dr. Cox said seriously.

"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense." Jeff said sternly and Dr. Cox looked through his phone and showed Jeff several pictures that made him want to beat the doctor to a bloody pulp. "What the hell is the meaning of this?" Jeff seethed quietly but furiously of the pictures on the doctor's phone that showed Vicky getting out of the shower.

"Calm down, all right. The pictures were left in an envelope at the nurses' desk and it was addressed to Denise, Vicky's boss. She didn't know what to make of it so she came to us and we agreed to keep the matter between us and that no one can know about this. Dr. Casey has the pictures locked up in his desk along with the other items that were in the envelope. Look, we know that Vicky didn't send those pictures but she can't know about them either. If Vicky finds out about the pictures, she's going to quit this job which she loves so much. Not only that, she'll also become terrified to leave the house and become a recluse. She doesn't deserve that." Dr. Cox said quietly but frustrated. He didn't like the accusations that the man standing before him was hinting at him, one bit.

"You mentioned other things? What other things were in the envelope?" Jeff whispered concerned.

"Aside from the pictures, there was a pair of used women's panties and a bra. That's not the worst part. There was a note, '**She doesn't belong here. She belongs with me, not with him and not with any of you**,' Dr. Cox explained seriously. "Vicky can't know that. If she finds out, it's going to ruin her. Is that what you guys want?" He said somewhat angrily and Jeff glared at him. "I didn't think so. Look, we're not the bad guys, okay. So, stop treating us hostilely like we're criminals because we're not. All we care about is Vicky's well-being. That's all." Dr. Cox whispered harshly.

Before Jeff could speak his mind again, Danny came running down the hall as Dr. Casey ran after him. Jeff knew that Danny was going to rush into Vicky's room but that was a terrible idea. So, he stopped Danny and led him aside as he shook and breathed hard.

"Let me go," Danny whispered viciously.

"Calm down and take a breath, okay. I know what he showed you but you can't let Vicky see you like that or she's going to get worse. I know that you don't want that so calm down." Jeff whispered sternly and as hard Danny tried, he couldn't stop the tears of fury that escaped his eyes. "Shhh. Everything is going to be okay, Pal. We're going to find this psychopath and lock him up where he belongs." He whispered compassionately but Danny quietly growled violently furious as his face became crimson red. "Take it easy, okay. Where's the stuff that he showed you?" Jeff whispered compassionately but Danny couldn't answer him.

"Your boss gave the envelope and all of its content to the evidence team that just arrived. He said to be quiet and not mention any of this to Vicky." Dr. Casey whispered seriously and then glared at Danny. "I don't give a damn if you're Vicky's boyfriend or an FBI agent. Don't you dare ever accuse me of having illicit intentions towards Vicky or any of my other colleagues again. I would never do anything to disrespect Vicky or anyone else. I know that you two are going through a very difficult situation right now but that doesn't give you or your friends the right to try to ruin my reputation or career with false and vile accusations like the ones you made in my office. I've worked too damn long and hard to get to where I am and I'm not going to let you or your friends ruin my life, career or reputation. If you or any of your colleagues attempt to put my career and reputation in jeopardy again, I'm going to file a lawsuit and I won't be the only one to do so." Dr. Casey whispered viciously and then went inside to Vicky's room, leaving Danny to glare at his retreating back.

"You need to cool that temper, kid. Go for a walk." Jeff said kindly and Danny glared at him. "Look, I'm telling you as a friend to go for a walk and calm down. If Jack finds out that you're not behaving professionally, he's going to get you off of this case and make you go home. I know that you don't want that to happen. So, go for a long walk until you can calm down. I know that this is personal for you because it involves Vicky but you have to treat this like you would another victim, composed and looking for any evidence. I'm not going to let you go in like this to see Vicky. So, get out of here. When you're calm again, I'll let you in to see Vicky. In the meantime, Martin and I will stay with her, okay. Go. Go, Danny. Now," Jeff said somewhat gruffly and Danny walked away angrily.

Once Danny left, Jeff and Dr. Cox once again returned to Vicky's room to find her sleeping.

"What did you give her?" Jeff said with a glare but Martin shook his head.

"He didn't give her anymore drugs, Jeff. She's just completely exhausted. Apparently, with everything that's been going on, she hasn't been sleeping well." Martin said concerned as he held Vicky's hand in his own. "I called Viv. She and Sam are on their way over here. Viv told Chuck about what's going on with Vicky. He told her to come over here to the hospital and that he would help the techs try to find any evidence to track down whoever is doing this. Also, his team already finished with the case they were working on, so they're going to work Vicky's case now. Chuck's going to give us a call if and when his team gets any leads," He said concerned as he soothed and kissed Vicky's hand but she groaned fearfully. "Shhh. Don't be scared, sweetie. It's me, Marty." He said caringly.

"Where's Danny?" Vicky weakly groaned fearfully.

"Danny will be back soon, darlin'. He and Jack are with the evidence techs. As soon as the techs are done, he'll come back in, okay." Jeff said kindly.

"I don't want to be here but I don't feel safe at home either. Who's doing this to me and why?" Vicky said softly but upset as fresh tears escaped her eyes.

"Don't try to rationalize what this idiot is doing, honey, because you can't. Whoever is doing this is obviously a very sick person who's taking pleasure out of frightening you and seeing you this upset." Dr. Cox said caringly but his words caused Vicky to gasp fearfully and bawl p protectively as she pulled her hands away from Martin and Jeff and held herself tightly.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, honey? What are you afraid of?" Jeff asked concerned as he grabbed a strong hold of Vicky and soothed and kissed her head.

"Breathe, bunny baby. We're not going to let this creep hurt you. This creep is going to have to go through us first. We're going to find out who's behind everything and we're going to make sure that they get locked up for a long time. I promise." Martin said with conviction.

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door before it opened. It was Sam and Viv.

"Hello, sweetheart, how are you feeling? We heard what happened." Viv said kindly as she embraced and kissed Vicky.

She and the rest of the team had taken a liking to Vicky since she'd taken care of their boys, Danny and Martin, when they were held hostage and tortured by Bobby Carr. Vicky had gone above and beyond her duties to make sure that both of her boys were very well taken care of. Now, it was her turn. Vicky was in danger and it was up to the entire team to help her and they would do anything to ensure Vicky's safety and peace of mind.

"Vicky, why didn't you or Danny tell us anything until now about what's been happening?" Sam asked compassionately.

"Danny tried to find out on his own what happened. He didn't want to any of your times, in case this was only a puppy crush, but he hasn't had any luck finding any answers on his own. The only description he's gotten is that it's a tall white guy who pays with cash. He's angry at himself because, according to him, he should be able to protect me and he hasn't done a good job of it." Vicky said softly as Jeff gently wiped clean her tear-stained face.

"Danny was a dummy for thinking like that. We're a family and we take care of each other. He should've told us from the moment you received the second delivery. Anyway, now that we know what's going on, we're going to help you. We're going to find this slime ball and he's going to wish that he never harassed you to begin with." Sam said kindly and they continued questioning Vicky for an hour until Danny and Jack returned to the room.

"Come here." Danny said with a heavy sigh as he embraced Vicky tightly and kissed her. "I love you so much. You know that, don't you?" Danny said with a heavy sigh and Vicky held on to him for dear life as she sobbed emotionally and fearfully.

"Vicky, you two are going to go home now, okay. Starting now, you're going to have the FBI watching your back. There's going to be a surveillance team tracking your every movement. They are also going to see if they can catch this suspect red-handed, leaving anymore gifts. For now, though, Danny's going to take you home. There's a team outside waiting to follow you. Go." Jack said a bit sternly.

"I can't leave. Everything I own is in that locker; my license, pictures, money. What am I supposed to do now?" Vicky cried upset and Jack held her face in his hands.

"I don't want you to worry about anything, honey. Do you understand me? The only thing that matters right now is your safety. Once we finish processing everything from your locker, your personal belongings will be returned to you, okay." Jack said compassionately as he wiped away her tears with his thumbs.

"I can't just sit at home, doing nothing, waiting for whoever's doing this to get me." Vicky cried upset and somewhat angrily.

"We're not going to let anything happen to you. So, stop thinking like that and calm down. You're going to go home with Danny and you're going to rest." Jack explained a bit gruffly and then sighed frustrated when Vicky shook her head and cried upset.

"You've been having nightmares, haven't you, honey?" Dr. Casey asked kindly and she nodded crying.

"Shhh. I don't care what you've been dreaming but it's not going to happen, sweetheart. You have us and other agents at headquarters working to find this idiot and keeping you safe. I don't want you to worry about anything. We're going to find him. Now, go home with Danny and get some rest. We'll be by there later this afternoon to check on you." Jack said compassionately as he embraced and kissed Vicky and Danny took a hold of her.

All of a sudden, the door opened and two men wearing dark suits stood at the door.

"Sweetie, these are FBI agents, Owen Stanton and William Pittman. They're going to follow us home and are going to keep an eye on you, okay. So, don't be afraid if you see them near the house or driving around the block. Are you ready to go, beautiful?" Danny asked in a soothing tone and Vicky nodded as she attempted to compose herself.

"You can take her now, Danny. Go ahead." Jack said a bit gruffly but kindly, he was still upset with Danny for not telling them from the beginning about what was happening. What made him angrier was the poor excuse that Danny had given about not wanting to bother the rest of the team.

"You heard the boss, sweethearts. Go home." Viv said kindly and they left as agents Stanton and Pittman followed behind.

While the team stayed behind, Danny drove Vicky to the home they shared. They may have been escorted by the agents, but what no one was aware of yet was the fact that Vicky's secret admirer had both Danny and Vicky under constant surveillance for the last two months. Now, the men who were hired to follow them, called their boss to inform him that they were being protected by other agents. Instead of being angry, the secret admirer simply laughed and told his men to continue following them, inconspicuously.

_**Silver Breeze Motel…**_

_**February 12**__**th**__**, 9:00 AM...**_

Arturo Teo Cervantes. There was a time when his name evoked the fear of God into the hearts of men, women and children everywhere, whenever anyone uttered it. He was a well-known powerful drug lord in his time. Cervantes had everything that he wanted; money, power, drugs, weapons women. Whether by fear or admiration, everyone respected him. He kept the locals quiet by making 'donations' to them. If someone in the neighborhood needed food, he'd buy them groceries and put a little something extra in the bags to carry them over for several weeks. If someone needed medical attention but couldn't afford it, Cervantes would pay for their medical expenses. He also gave abusive men a taste of their own medicine and threatened their lives if they ever mistreated their wives and kids again.

Everyone in the neighborhood knew who he was but they never snitched him out to police; some because he took of them and others because they were too afraid to talk to police. Those few stupid, unlucky souls who dared to betray him, had met their maker when he'd gotten a hold of them. Cervantes could be kind to keep everyone quiet but he was also a ruthless murderer and those who betrayed him would live to regret it.

Ten years. For ten years he's been plotting his revenge against the man who'd ruined it all; Special Agent Danny Taylor of the FBI New York field office. The man's name made Cervantes' blood boil like hot spewing lava. Taylor had ruined his life and everything he'd worked so hard to create. It had taken years to build his criminal empire and in a matter of minutes, Taylor had ruined it all. He stared at the mirror in anger and disgust at the hideous scar that he'd gotten thanks to Special Agent Danny Taylor; an atrocious scar that began at his chest and ended at his lower abdomen.

_**Flashback…**_

_**Vacant Warehouse, **_

_**Queens, 4:00 AM**_

_Arturo Cervantes beat thirty year old Sam Goodwin to a bloody pulp, for the third straight day. Goodwin, his longtime childhood friend, had snitched to police about a murder that Cervantes had committed; just to get immunity for a drug charge. Cervantes found out from others that his friend had betrayed him so he had no choice but to make an example of his so-called friend. Over the last three days, he'd tortured the filthy rat and now was the time to send him off to the next life. No one betrayed Arturo Cervantes and lived to tell about it and his lifelong childhood friend wasn't going to be the exception._

"_You can't kill me, Teo! We've known each other our entire lives! You're supposed to be my friend!" Goodwin pled crying terrified as blood spewed from his mouth and he struggled in vain to free himself from the ropes that held him in place in the chair he'd been tied to; his words causing Cervantes to tightly grab his hair and roughly pull his head back to look at him._

"_Don't you dare call me a friend. You're the one who betrayed me. You told the damn cops about the Rivera's murder and for what? You were only going to get six months in county lockup. Instead of sucking it up and doing your time like a man, you get into bed with the cops. Now, they're looking everywhere for me." Cervantes said viciously as he sent a kick to Goodwin's chest and Goodwin gasped violently as he struggled to breathe._

"_You thought that you could betray me and I'd let you live just because we've known each other all our lives. Well, you thought wrong, Sammy. You never should have betrayed me. Now, you're going to die and everyone's going to know that I don't forgive betrayal; no matter who you are." Cervantes seethed viciously as he cocked his gun and aimed it at Goodwin's heart._

_Cervantes was ready to pull the trigger when a loud explosion suddenly rang out and smoke, gunfire and screams filled the entire room. _

"_FBI, drop your weapons!" FBI agents yelled loudly as they took down several armed suspects, except for Cervantes who didn't seem phased and continued aiming his cocked gun at his friend's heart._

"_Drop the damn gun right now, Cervantes! There's nowhere to run! You're under arrest for the murder of Marcos Rivera! I'm not going to tell you again! Drop the gun! Now!" Agent Danny Taylor yelled heatedly._

"_I'm not going back to prison! You're not taking me alive!" Cervantes said viciously as he aimed his gun at Agent Taylor's head and attempted to shoot his weapon but Agent Taylor fired several shots, hitting Cervantes in the chest and abdomen._

_**End of Flashback…**_

The doctors had been certain that I wasn't going to survive what that fed had done to me. Thanks to the g-man in question, I'd gotten shot three times—twice in my chest, once in my leg and the final shot in my abdomen. I'd lost so much blood that no one thought I'd make it through the night. Well, they didn't know me and my will to survive, even though part of me wanted to give in to death and its peaceful darkness, away from all the agonizing pain that I was feeling. The only thing that kept me going was my unquenchable thirst for vengeance against the despicable pig who'd caused my pain and temporary defeat. I was going to find the man responsible and make his life a living hell before I ended it. My thirst for revenge pulled me through and saved me despite everyone's shock and certainty that I wouldn't survive my injuries.

Once I was out of danger, they dragged me back to prison where they'd said that I deserved to spend the rest of my life. From the moment I got in there I began plotting my escape. Six months later I was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. As furious as I was about the sentencing, there was a good thing I'd gotten out of it. Thanks to the g-man testifying against me in court, I'd learned the identity of the man I was going to kill; Special Agent Danny Taylor of the FBI New York field office.

It had taken ten long years and countless failed escape attempts before I'd finally escaped that hell. I had friends on the outside waiting to help me. During my time on the inside, my men had been constantly keeping track of Taylor's whereabouts and they gave me wonderful news. Aside from learning where he worked and lived, I'd been given information about his lovely lady friend, Nurse Vicky Rodriguez. It was a shame that such a creature as stunningly beautiful as Vicky, had to die.

I really don't have anything against Vicky. From what I've learned, she is a beautiful, sweet girl. Sadly, she is Taylor's girlfriend and I am out for revenge. So, now, she too has to pay the consequences of Taylor's actions. Before I learned about Vicky, my plan was only to torment and kill Taylor but when my right-hand man Manolo Flores, informed me about Vicky, I began sending her anonymous gifts and making calls to her cell phone and work. Soon, my plan to have her here with me will come to be. Tomorrow, the lovely Vicky Rodriguez will join me in our lovely secluded chateau. I truly feel sorry for her, however. The lovely Vicky has no idea what surprises await her.

All of sudden, there was a knock on the door of his bedroom door and Manolo Flores entered the room.

"Hey, Amigo, is everything ready for our special guest?" Arturo 'Teo' Cervantes said with an evil smile. Arturo wasn't really a man in love. He was a man thirsty for revenge. Danny Taylor had ruined his life and everything he'd worked so hard to create, but he was going to repay the favor. He was going to hit Danny Taylor where it hurt most. He was going to take Danny's precious love away from him.

"Yeah, Teo, everything is set up. The car, the pick up, the location and the toys are all taken care of and ready to use when you give the word." Manolo Flores, Cervantes' right hand man said with a smile as he drank a beer.

"Is the disguise ready? I want to be unrecognizable to that dumb prick. Taylor's going to pay for what he put me through." Cervantes said evilly as he fingered the hideous scar that had been caused when Danny Taylor shot him all those years ago.

"You just have to glue it on to your face and put on the wig. The car is ready also. All you have to do now is pick up your special guest," Manolo Flores said with an amused sneer.

"Perfect, then. We'll pick up our guest tomorrow morning." Cervantes said smiling as he and Flores clanked their beer bottles together in celebration.

_**Friday, February 13**__**th**__**, 7:00 AM**_

_**Danny's Apartment Building…**_

Danny and Vicky had spent several peaceful uneventful days at home, during which time they talked and Vicky decided that she wasn't going to live her locked away in her home. She became a nurse to take care of those in need and she couldn't do that if she wouldn't leave the house. She decided that she would return to work and do the job she loved so much. She wasn't going to let anyone scared her away from what she loved. So, she cleaned up, got dressed and then left as Danny followed behind.

"Since you don't want to stay at home, at least let me take you to the hospital, honey. I don't want you going anywhere alone, especially when we haven't caught that lunatic yet. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I love you." Danny said concerned as he held Vicky by her waist.

"No, Danny, you can't be late for work and that's exactly what's going to happen if you drop me off at the hospital. I'll be okay, sweetie. I'll just take a cab. Don't worry about me, okay. Ever since the incident in the locker room, everyone has been keeping an eye on me and don't leave me anywhere at all, alone. Whether I'm taking a break for lunch, going to the women's room or treating patients, someone is always with me. They won't let me be anywhere alone. The nurses, doctors, security and other personnel help me out. So, please don't worry about me. Besides, like everyone says, I can't give whoever's doing this, so much power of my life. If I don't leave the house, I'm giving this stalker exactly what he or she wants." Vicky said kindly as she embraced him tightly.

"Is that Casey guy included in your list of hospital protectors? I don't like him or how he treats you and I don't want him touching you." Danny said petulantly and Vicky chuckled amused as she kissed him and soothed his face.

"You're so silly, sweetie. You don't have any reason to be jealous of Dr. Casey or anyone else. I love and want only you. I don't want or need anyone else. So, please stop being jealous of Dr. Casey. Besides, he's happily married to his wife of 25 yrs and he's never been disrespectful or inappropriate with me or anyone else at the hospital." Vicky said with a smile and he sighed heavily.

"Something doesn't feel right, baby. Please, just stay home or come with me to the office." Danny pled concerned as he embraced Vicky somewhat tightly.

"I'll be okay, I promise. As a matter of fact, because of what's happened, Dr. Casey has me working with him and he offered to bring me home." Vicky said with a relieved sigh.

"Excuse me? Why would he do that? How well do you know this Dr. Casey anyway?" Danny said seriously.

"Please stop that, Daniel Taylor. Dr. Casey isn't the one who's trying to hurt me. He's one of my bosses." Vicky chastised seriously and when Danny heard his full name coming from her lips, he knew that Vicky meant business and that he needed to cool off and stop behaving so jealously.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I'll calm down when it comes to Dr. Casey. But he better stop touching you and being lovey-dovey with you. Tell him to get handsy with his wife." Danny said crossly but kindly and Vicky giggled amused as she shook her head.

"I only have eyes and lips for you, Danny Taylor. Now, I have to go. I can't be late for work and neither can you." Vicky said lovingly as she kissed Danny and soothed his head and face.

She didn't really want to leave the beautiful man staring back at her but she had to keep living her life, despite the fact that her stalker had managed to elude arrest. So, she held out her hand and hailed a cab that was nearby.

"**_It is time, my love. We'll be together very soon and no one else will ever get between us again._**" Cervantes said with a sneer as he watched Vicky and Danny embracing and kissing goodbye at the front entrance of Danny's apartment building. "**_Say goodbye to him, my love. You'll never see him or anyone else again._**" Cervantes said with a smile as he turned on the car and drove up to the front of Danny's building in a cab.

Danny kissed Vicky before she got into the cab.

"Please call me as soon as you get to work and be careful. I love you." Danny said lovingly as he kissed her.

"I love you, too, sweetie. Bye." Vicky said with a smile as she unknowingly entered a cab driven by none other than her deranged stalker; a stalker now cleverly disguised as a defenseless elderly man nearing his sixties.

Vicky gave the elderly driver her destination address and he drove away; poor, sweet Vicky completely unaware of the horrors that awaited her now.


	3. Chapter Three: Obsession

The Devil's Obsession

Disclaimer: I do not own Without a Trace or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created myself. So, please do not attempt to sue me as this story is for entertainment purposes only.

**Chapter Three: Obsession**

Vicky gave the elderly driver her destination address and he drove away; poor, sweet Vicky completely unaware of the horrors that awaited her now.

"Excuse me, Sir, but you're going the wrong way. The hospital is in the other direction." Vicky said kindly but confused when she noticed that the elderly driver was not driving toward the hospital.

"I'm not taking you to the hospital." The elderly driver said with an eerie smile.

"Excuse me? Stop the car right now. I'm getting out. I'm going to be late for work." Vicky said seriously as she tried to open the door, but to her horror she realized too late that the door and window handles had been removed from both back doors. As soon as she realized that, her heart sunk to the floor and all of the air left her lungs. Right then, she knew that something was horribly wrong. "Let me out right now." Vicky outwardly said angrily but inside she was scared to death.

"You're not leaving, sweet Vicky." The elderly driver said with an eerie smile.

"Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?" Vicky said angrily but she couldn't hide the quiver and fear from her voice because deep down she knew too well who this man really was; this was the insane man who'd been stalking her over the last two months.

"Don't act so coy, Vicky. We both know that you already figured out who I am. I told you that you belonged with me, my love, not with Danny. He doesn't deserve you. Now, we're going to spend the rest of our lives together, away from everyone." Cervantes said with a smile as he looked at Vicky through the rearview mirror.

As soon as she heard the words, Vicky began screaming for help as she repeatedly hit the window with her hands.

"Stop doing that before you hurt yourself, beautiful. You're not going back to those awful people who only take advantage of you. Well not anymore. I'm not going to sit around watching while they do that to you." Cervantes said seriously and his words caused Vicky to scream louder for help and hit the window harder with her fists.

Bystanders on the street realized what was happening and quickly got on their phones.

"Help me! Stalker! Vicky! Kidnapped!" Vicky screamed frantically as she hit the window with her fists, making Cervantes furious as he aimed a gun at several men when they tried to intervene and help Vicky.

"Shut up!" Cervantes yelled furiously as he hit Vicky in the back of the head with the gun, instantly causing her to fall to the back seat, unconscious.

Cervantes knew that he was going to risk getting caught if he didn't leave. So, he pressed his foot all the way down on the accelerator and got the hell out of there, shooting at several bystanders who attempted to follow him.

_**Friday, February 13th**_

_**Manhattan, NY, 7:30 AM**_

The streets were closed off as dozens of police officers canvassed the area, collected evidence and spoke to witnesses about what had just occurred.

"Did anyone get a license plate?" Lieutenant Gabriel Álvarez asked seriously and several witnesses gave him the same license plate number. "Harris, put out an APB for a yellow New York cab with these plates. Go." He said seriously and the officer rushed back to his car with the information.

"Her name is Vicky. At least, I think it is. That poor girl was screaming 'Help me! Stalker! Vicky! Kidnapped!' Poor girl. She was so afraid." The elderly woman cried terribly upset.

"Please calm down, Ma'am. We're going to do what we can to help her. Now, did you notice anything else about her, how she looked, what clothes she was wearing? Did you see the driver?" Lieutenant Alvarez questioned gently as he tried to comfort the elderly woman.

"She was a pretty girl. Her hair was dark brown or black and it reached her back. I think she was a doctor." The elderly woman cried upset; she couldn't forget the terror in the young woman's eyes as she struggled desperately in vain to get out of the car.

"What makes you think that, honey?" Lieutenant Alvarez questioned very concerned as he continued comforting the older woman.

"She had on the same clothes that doctors wear." The woman cried and at first the lieutenant was confused, but then he had a thought and showed the woman his phone. "That's it. She had those clothes right here, the blue ones." The woman cried sniffling as she tried to compose herself.

"Those are nursing scrubs, Gabriel." Captain Jason Carmichael said seriously as he stood beside the elderly woman and gave her some water; the poor woman had been shaken up badly by what had occurred to the fearful young woman.

"Did you see the driver or what he looked like?" Captain Carmichael asked gently.

"It was an old white guy but there was something wrong with him." The elderly woman said sniffling as she touched her face. "Before he left, I saw his face. The skin was falling from his face. I've never seen anything like that in real life, only in horror movies." She said with a shudder and they looked at each other seriously concerned.

"Please stay right here, Mrs. Saunders. We'll be right back, okay. Don't worry, honey. We'll be right over here, just a few feet away." Captain Carmichael said kindly and they walked several feet away so she couldn't hear their conversation.

"You know what that sounds like, don't you? The face, I mean." Captain Carmichael said seriously.

"It sounds like he was wearing a mask on his face. She said that his skin was falling off of his face, like in a horror movie. Maybe this guy glued a prosthetic piece to his face to disguise his real identity. If that's the case, we need to find out who this girl is and where he took, before he kills her." Captain Carmichael said seriously.

"Has anyone called in the FBI yet?" Lieutenant Alvarez asked concerned and the captain nodded.

"My cousin Jeff works over at Federal Plaza. I already called him and told him what's going on. He's on his way over here with his boss right now and they should be here any minute." Captain Carmichael said kindly and just then a siren chirped and an unmarked vehicle parked several feet away from them.

Two men exited the unmarked vehicle and approached Captain Carmichael and Lieutenant Alvarez. It was Jack and Jeff.

"Hey, Jas. This is my boss Agent Jack Malone." Jeff said kindly as they all shook hands and introduced each other.

"What do we have so far? Do we know anything about the victim or the suspect?" Jack as somewhat gruffly as he removed a notepad and pen from his jacket pocket and Lieutenant Alvarez looked through his notes.

"We have an APB out on the cab that the suspect was driving. We're also speaking with Mrs. Emma Saunders over there. She witnessed what happened and also gave us some information about the suspect that no one else gave us." Lieutenant Alvarez said respectfully.

"What did she tell you? Do you any other witnesses besides her?" Jack said seriously as he wrote some notes.

"We have several witnesses that heard the victim screaming for help. According to Mrs. Saunders and other witnesses, the victim was screaming 'Help me! Stalker! Vicky! Kidnapped!' and hitting the windows with her bare hands, trying to get out of the cab." Captain Carmichael tried to continue but Jeff cut him off.

"Stop right there, damn it. What the hell did you just say? Do you have a description of the victim?" Jeff said urgently as he got a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach and gave Jack a horrified look.

"Victim is a Caucasian female, long brown or black hair and she was wearing scrubs. The suspect was an elderly Caucasian male but according to Mrs. Saunders, the skin on his face was falling off before he drove away. We think that he may have been wearing some kind of prosthetic mask glued to his face. When several bystanders tried to help her, the suspect pointed a gun at them. Witnesses also say that the suspect became violent when the young lady began screaming for help, so as punishment, he hit her in the back of the head with the gun, knocking her unconscious." Captain said seriously as he looked over his notes.

"Aw, Christ, this can't be happening. This cannot be happening." Jeff said horrified and he and Jack quickly made their way to Mrs. Saunders as Captain Carmichael and Lieutenant Alvarez followed behind.

"Good morning, Mrs. Saunders, I'm Special Agent Jack Malone of the FBI and this is my partner Agent Jeff Carmichael. Can you please tell us what you told the officers about what occurred here this morning?" Jack said kindly but on the inside, he was terrified to death. This couldn't be their Vicky. It had to be another unfortunate victim.

Mrs. Saunders began crying again as she recounted the horror of the young woman's kidnapping. Once finished with her account of what happened, Jack began looking through his phone until he found a picture and showed it to Mrs. Saunders.

"Mrs. Saunders, Ma'am, this is very important. Can you tell me if the young lady in this picture is the same young lady who was in the cab? Is she the one who was kidnapped?" Jack asked gently but he was terrified and didn't want to know the answer.

As soon as she saw the picture of the beautiful smiling girl, Mrs. Saunders began bawling again as she nodded and covered her eyes.

"That's her; that poor girl. She was so scared and begging for someone to help her but that evil man hit her in the head and began shooting at people who were trying to help her. Then, he drove away." Mrs. Saunders cried terribly upset and Captain Carmichael signaled to a female officer. "Please stay with Mrs. Saunders. Get all of her information. Once she calms down get her home safely. Also, make sure that you tell her to give Nancy in Victim Services, a call. Excuse me." Captain Carmichael said kindly and then left several feet away with Lieutenant Alvarez, Jack and Jeff.

"Oh, Christ, this can't be happening. What the hell are we going to do, Jack? We can't let that deranged sociopath kill Vicky. Damn it. What the hell was she doing in that cab? We told her to stay home." Jeff quietly said furiously and fearfully as he raked his badly shaking hands through his head and Jack roughly grabbed and shook his shoulders.

"Calm down. We need to keep our cool and treat this like any other case. We're going to find her. We're not going to let this sick freak get away with this. When we find her and that freak, he's going to regret ever messing with Vicky and Danny." He said sternly but compassionately.

"Jeff, what's going on, bro? Do you know the victim?" Captain Carmichael asked seriously concerned and both Jack and Jeff nodded. "How do you know her?" He asked seriously.

"The victim's name is Vicky Rodriguez. She's a nurse over at St. Luke's Hospital. She's also the fiancée of a fellow agent, Special Agent Danny Taylor. Over the last two months someone has been stalking her. They've been sending gifts, flowers, underwear, naked pictures of herself and they also vandalized her locker at work with blood and other gory objects. With all those nasty surprises have come notes saying that she doesn't belong with Danny or anyone at the hospital." Jeff said with a heavy sigh as he swallowed hard.

"Danny Taylor? Why does that name sound so familiar to me?" Lieutenant Alvarez questioned confused.

"You remember him, Gabriel. That's the guy who was kidnapped with his partner, a while back, in the woods. We all gave blood to try to save them when they were rescued; the Adirondack Mountains Miracle Men." Captain Carmichael said kindly of the name they'd been given by the media.

"So, the nurse is his girlfriend? Does this have anything to do with that case?" Alvarez asked confused.

"No. All of the suspects from that case are dead. We still don't know anything about this headcase. We need to find her." Jack said seriously concerned. "Damn it. We have to get back to the office and let our colleague know what's going on. This is going to be bad." He said concerned just as his phone rang. "Malone." He barked gruffly into the phone.

"Jack, it's Viv. Where are you? We just got a call about a kidnapping victim near here. Danny and I are on our way over there now." Viv said respectfully but Jack's eyes bulged out of his head.

"Don't do that, Viv. Stay at the office. We're over here right now. Viv, the kidnapping victim is Vicky." Jack said urgently as his voice shook slightly, there was no way that he could allow Danny to come to the crime scene.

"What? What are you talking about?" Viv whispered shocked.

"You heard me, Viv. A witness positively identified Vicky's picture as the victim. We're here right now. Danny can't come here. So, keep him over there and don't tell him what happened. We're heading back to the office and I'm going to tell him what happened." Jack explained seriously.

"All right, Jack. I'll tell Sam what's going on and we'll stall for time. We'll see you here." Viv said very concerned as her voice shook and she swallowed hard.

"I know that this is a very difficult situation, Viv, but we have to keep our composure. We're going to get her back. We have to gather more information here right now but we'll be back at the office shortly." Jack said seriously but kindly and then ended the call.

"I'm very sorry about what's going on, Jeff, but know that you have my entire department at your disposal. We're going to do everything that we can to help you find your friend. Just tell us what you guys need." Captain Carmichael said compassionately as he gently squeezed his cousin's shoulder.

"Thanks, Jas. We need all the help we can get to find this bastard. I want you to see if you can find anything on this guy. We have video of this guy but no one has been able to identify him. Either he's not a regular around here or residents in the neighborhood are too afraid to talk. Look at this." Jeff said with a heavy sigh as he showed his cousin and Lieutenant Alvarez the video of Vicky's stalker in the flower shop.

"It's obvious by the novelty FBI cap he's wearing, that he's mocking your friend and the FBI. It's his big 'screw you' to you. He's telling you that you can't catch him." Lieutenant Alvarez said seriously but thoughtfully as he studied the video, the suspect looked familiar to him but he couldn't remember from where.

"You're looking at the video as if you know the suspect, Lieutenant Alvarez. Do you know him?" Jack asked somewhat gruffly, he was frustrated because he wanted answers and he didn't have them. How the hell was he supposed to tell Danny that he'd broken his promise to Vicky and didn't keep her safe?

"First of all, call me Gabriel. Everyone else does. Now, to your second question, I don't know. This guy looks familiar as hell but I can't place him right now. If you can send me this video, I can enhance it and try to figure out where I've seen him. I know that face, though. I've seen him before." Gabriel said confused as he gave Jeff his phone back.

"Gabriel here is a genius when it comes to the tech stuff. He's the best we have. So, if anyone can find out who this guy is, it's him. There's also a C.I. that I can talk to. If there's something illegal going on in the neighborhood, he's going to know about it. Like I told you, Jeff, whatever you guys need just let us know. We won't give up until we bring your friend home and capture this deranged lunatic." Jason said with conviction.

"I'd appreciate if you'd send me those pictures that you took of the locker and everything else that the young lady received. I know that I've seen this guy and maybe looking at the pictures and video will tell me who he is." Gabriel said respectfully but concerned.

"Jack, we better get back to the office and talk to Danny before he finds out from someone else what happened." Jeff said concerned and then sighed heavily.

"Don't worry, buddy. You guys go talk to your friend and we'll keep working here. I already have an APB on the cab and if my guys find anything, I will call you straight away." Captain Carmichael said kindly and they shook hands and exchanged business cards.

_**FBI Headquarters, 8:15 AM…**_

Jack and Jeff arrived at headquarters and went upstairs. When they arrived upstairs, Danny was sitting at his desk working on some reports of past cases. As soon as they saw him, Jack and Jeff sighed heavily and went up to him.

"Danny…" Jack said kindly as attempted to keep his composure.

"Hey, Jack, Viv and I were going to go check out the kidnapping case but she told me that you were already there and that you said to wait here. So, I've been working on some reports until you got back. What do we have?" Danny said respectfully.

"Where are Sam and Viv?" Jeff interrupted before Jack could say something.

"I don't know. I went into the restroom and by the time I got out they weren't in the bullpen anymore. Maybe they went into the tech room." Danny said with a smile and just then, the elevator doors opened and Sam and Viv came out of it.

"Where's Martin?" Jack asked seriously. He wanted to gather his team together before he broke the news of Vicky's kidnapping to Danny. He didn't want to be alone with Danny when he told Danny what happened.

"He's on his way up right now. He was speaking with the lab techs to see if they have any evidence from the items in Vicky's locker." Sam said kindly and just then Martin came running out of the stairwell.

"Glad you could join us, Martin. All of you follow me. We're going to my office. Follow me." Jack said seriously and led the team to his office, causing the rest of the agents around the office to look at each other very concerned and prepare for the worst because they knew what was going to happen in that office. Word had already spread through the building that Vicky was the victim that had been kidnapped and that Jack was going to inform Danny what had happened.

"Why didn't we just have the briefing out in the bullpen, Jack? We never have it in here." Danny said confused.

At Danny's question, the team looked at each other concerned and they sighed heavily.

"Sit down, Danny." Jack said gently as he sat Danny on his office couch, causing Danny to pale as he got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What's going on, Jack? Why do you want me to sit down? Why is everyone in here? What happened?" Danny said somewhat panicked as his breathing quickened and he became paler, causing Jack to sigh heavily and put a hand on his shoulder. "What, damn it?" He said angrily out of fear.

"Danny, there's no easy way to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it." Jack said with a heavy sigh as his voice shook a bit and he squeezed Danny's shoulder. "The reason I didn't want you to go to the crime scene this morning was because…" Jack tried but couldn't continue when a knock came to the door, it was Chuck.

"Jack, the lab just finished running tests on the blood in Vicky's locker. It's human and we found a match. The blood belongs to a victim who was killed last week. The victim's name was Juan Perez, a known junkie in the neighborhood. He was found last week in the Hudson River." Chuck said urgently but then realized that Jack hadn't told Danny what had happened. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I thought…" Chuck said regretfully.

"I was going to tell him now, Chuck. Come in and close the door." Jack said seriously and Chuck did as he was told.

"That's enough, Jack. I want to know what the hell is going on and I want to know now." Danny said angrily as he began shaking, now aware that something was terribly wrong.

"Calm down, Danny. I know that this isn't easy but you have to know the truth. The reason I didn't want you anywhere near the crime scene is because…because the victim of the kidnapping…was…Vicky." Jack explained as gently as possible as his voice broke but at that moment, Danny gasped violently for air.

Danny felt as if all of the oxygen had been sucked out of the room and his heart was ripped out of his chest. He grabbed his head tightly and shook violently as tears stained every crevice of his face. This wasn't real. None of it was true. His precious Vicky, the love of his life, was completely safe in the hospital and she was happily treating her ill patients.

"No! You're a damn liar! That's not true! My Vicky's okay! She's safe at the hospital! She hasn't been kidnapped! Why the hell are you lying to me like that! You, sick son of a bitch! I hate you! I hate you!" Danny screamed crying extremely violently as he tightly grabbed Jack by his collar and shook him roughly.

"Danny! Danny, calm down!" Jeff yelled fearfully as he and Martin tried to get him off of Jack but Danny was completely out of control as he screamed crying violently angry and attempted to kick the men in the room.

"Damn it! We have to cuff him before he hurts himself or us! Hurry up!" Jack yelled angrily out of shock, fear and concern for Danny's safety.

Jeff and Chuck forced Danny to the ground and they held him tightly as Jack and Martin cuffed his arms behind his back and restrained his legs. That wasn't enough as Danny continued fighting them and tried hitting his head on the floor but Jeff tightly held his head to the ground.

"Brother, I know how scared you are but you have to calm down. We're going to do whatever the hell it takes to bring Vicky home safely. You have to believe that. You need to be strong for Vicky but you can't do that if you act like this. Look at you, trying to hurt us and yourself. How is that going to help Vicky, buddy? She wouldn't want you to do this. So, please calm down, buddy. We're going to get her back safely no matter what it takes. I promise." Martin said badly shaken as he shook and tears stained his face but Danny continued trying to fight them as he screamed crying violently furious.

"Jack, we need to get him help. His damn heart rate is too high so unless you want something to happen to him, you better get medical up here now." Chuck said urgently.

"Go to hell and let me go! You're all damn liars! I hate you!" Danny screamed crying furiously as he struggled in vain to get free as he gasped violently for air but couldn't get any into his lungs. "You're all damn…liars! I…hate…you!" He gasped crying violently furious as he struggled to breathe and gave in to complete darkness where he could be free of pain and free of their damn lies.

Jack pressed a button his office phone. "I need a medical team up here right now on 12th. We have an agent down." Jack barked angrily into the phone and then slammed it hard.

Several minutes later, medical personnel showed up in Jack's office and began treating Daniel for half an hour after Jack allowed the handcuffs to be removed. All of a sudden, Danny began groaning and crying weakly but emotionally as he fought to open his eyes. Jack was a damn liar. They all were. His beautiful angel hadn't been kidnapped. She was safe. She was safe.

"Danny, sweetie, open your eyes and look at me. Come on. Look at me, sweetheart." A female voice said peacefully.

"Vicky?" Danny weakly cried emotionally as he struggled to wake up but his eyes felt like they were glued together. What was wrong his eyes?

"I'm sorry, sweetie. It's not Vicky. It's me, Samantha." She said kindly as she soothed and kissed his face and Danny cried more upset when he opened his eyes to a crack and saw Sam staring back at him, instead of Vicky.

"Where is she? I want her here with me." Danny weakly cried terribly upset as he tried to remove the oxygen mask from his face but someone grabbed his hands.

"Don't take the oxygen off, brother. Listen, I know that you're very scared right now but we're going to do whatever the hell we have to, to bring Vicky back home, safely. Do you understand me?" Martin said with conviction as he tightly held Danny wrists to stop him from removing the oxygen.

"Tell me it's a damn lie, Fitzy. My sweet angel's at work. I put her in the cab myself." Danny cried upset.

"I'm sorry, but it's all true, kiddo." Martin said softly as he looked down, he couldn't look at Danny in his face and tell him that he'd sent Vicky with the lunatic who'd been stalking her.

"What the hell happened?" Danny cried upset and Martin couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes. "Tell me, damn it." He cried very emotionally and fearfully but Martin swallowed hard as he shook his head. He couldn't break the news to Danny, so Jeff stepped in.

"I'm so sorry, Kid. I hate to tell you this…but…the cab driver wasn't a cab driver at all. From witness testimony, we've been able to gather that the cab driver was actually wearing a mask to make himself appear older. At a stoplight, Vicky started screaming for help and was smart enough to give all the information she could. Bystanders tried to help her but the suspect began shooting at them and fled the scene. My cousin, Captain Jason Carmichael and his guys are on the NYPD and they're working Vicky's kidnapping along with us. They were able to obtain a license plate number from witnesses and Jason already has men looking for the cab." Jeff said seriously but compassionately and Danny cried weakly but furiously as he got free of Martin's grip and tightly held his head.

"Danny, calm down. I know what you're thinking but you're wrong. None of this is your fault. There was no way that you could've known that the cabby wasn't who he appeared to be. Don't blame yourself because that's not going to help us get Vicky back safe, okay. We need your help to get her back, brother. I swear on my life that we'll do anything and I mean _**anything**_, to get her back safe and give this lunatic what he deserves." Martin said with conviction.

"Hello?" Jeff said urgently as he answered his ringing cell phone, it was his cousin Jason. "Jas, what have you got? What? Where was it found?" He asked urgently and everyone looked at him. "Got it, Jas. Thanks. No, we're on our way now. Don't touch anything until we get there. We'll see you there." Jeff said urgently as he ended the call.

"What's going on, Jeff?" Jack said gruffly.

"That was my cousin Jason. NYPD just found the cab that Vicky was taken in. They found it abandoned in the marina. Jason says that surveillance shows the suspect carrying Vicky away from the dock, to an awaiting vehicle. The image is grainy so they're trying to clean it up. For now, we need to go over there." Jeff said seriously.

"Martin, you and Jeff go to the dock. Sam, Viv, I want you to canvas the neighborhood again and talk to the witnesses. I'm going to stay here with Danny. Update me on what you find out. Go. Get out of here." Jack said seriously and Jeff, Martin, Sam and Viv left the office.

"What else did your cousin tell you?" Martin asked concerned as they got into the elevator.

"I didn't want to say anything in front of Danny, but Jason said that they found blood and hair in the back seat." Jeff said seriously concerned and the others gasped fearfully as their eyes bugged out.

"How much blood did they find?" Sam asked fearfully.

"He didn't say, Sam, but don't forget that the witnesses said that the suspect hit Vicky in the head with a gun and knocked her unconscious. So, the blood could be from that. We won't know anything for sure, though, until we test the blood." Jeff said with a heavy sigh as he held his head.

"Look, I don't care what the hell it takes, but we're going to bring Vicky back home, safely. Whatever it takes, legal or otherwise, we're not going to let this sadistic lunatic get away with this. _**Whatever it takes**_. Who's with me?" Martin said calmly but angrily as he held his hand out in front of him and the others put their hands on his and went their separate ways when the elevator opened.

Several hours passed as the NYPD and FBI continued their investigations. Sam and Viv were able to talk to witnesses but no one had anything knew to say about Vicky's kidnapping or the suspect. As for Jeff and Martin, they went down to the marina and saw for themselves the blood and hair that was in the back seat of the cab. Thankfully, it wasn't a lot, which indicated that Vicky could still be alive. Once they finished, they headed back to headquarters to update Jack on what they'd found.

_**Friday, February 13**__**th**__**, 1:00PM…**_

_**FBI Headquarters, Jack's Office…**_

"What did you guys find out?" Danny asked fearfully.

"Calm down and breathe, Danny. We found blood and hair in the back seat of the cab. It wasn't a lot, only a little bit of blood. Witnesses say that the suspect hit Vicky in the back of the head to keep her quiet. So, that's probably why that blood was there. I swear to you, though, that it wasn't a lot." Jeff said compassionately.

"Did NYPD get anything else?" Jack asked somewhat gruffly. He knew that he was behaving like a pompous jerk but he couldn't help himself. He should've had agents keeping a better eye on Vicky. He'd promised her that she'd be safe and that the team would catch the lunatic who'd been harassing her. Yet, he'd failed her and Danny. Now, he had to do whatever it took to bring the innocent young woman back safely.

"Several witnesses have come forward with videos of Vicky's abduction. Gabriel is going through the footage now. He swears that he knows this scumbag so he's trying to figure out from where. By the way, just like we thought, the suspect had been wearing a mask. We found a piece of prosthetic skin with glue on it, in the front seat of the cab. ERT is trying to see if they can get fingerprints or DNA." Jeff said kindly but concerned.

"You're worried that because of the mask, we won't be able to get a positive ID on this guy and find him on time." Danny said calmly but angrily as tears stained his exhausted face.

"I'm not going to lie to you, kid. I am worried because of the mask but that's not going to stop us from going after this scumbag. Someone out there knows him and they're going to have to give us a name to go with that face. And when find him, he's going to regret the day he ever messed with our family. Do you understand me?" Jeff said sternly but with conviction.

"You don't…" Danny said angrily but couldn't continue when his phone rang. "Hello?" He said fearfully into his phone and the same eerie song came on the phone, making Danny realize that this was Vicky's stalker. "Who are you, you son of a bitch! What did you do to Vicky! If anything happens to her, I swear that I'm going to hunt you down and kill you!" Danny roared violently furious.

"Someone wants to say hello to you, _Agent Taylor_," Said a mechanical voice.

"Danny…" Vicky cried weakly.

"Vicky!" Danny screamed fearfully.


	4. Chapter Four: The Call

The Devil's Obsession

Disclaimer: I do not own Without a Trace or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created myself. So, please do not attempt to sue me as this story is for entertainment purposes only.

**Chapter Four: The Call**

"Vicky!" Danny screamed horrified and Martin and the other agents in the bullpen looked at him very concerned.

"That's enough. If you ever want to see your girlfriend again, you're going to do exactly what I tell you." The mechanical voice said maniacally.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want? I swear that if you hurt her, I'm going to hunt you down." Danny said viciously as his hands shook.

"Shut up! You're not in charge here. I am. You're going to do everything that I tell you. If you don't, you're never going to see Vicky alive again. Do you understand me? I'm in charge." The voice said furiously and Vicky screamed crying fearfully when Cervantes put her in a chokehold and put the gun to her head. "Take it easy, beautiful. Our little game has just begun. I'm not going to kill you; yet. If your boyfriend doesn't follow the rules, however, you're going to pay the consequences." He said seriously as he kissed her cheek and then released her. "Did you hear that, _Agent Taylor_? If you don't play by my rules, you'll never see Vicky alive again." The voice said seriously and Vicky cried more fearfully.

"What the hell do you want? Money? Fame? What? Why did you choose her? What's it going to take for you to let her go?" Danny said viciously through gritted teeth. He knew that whoever was behind Vicky's kidnapping had no intention of letting Vicky go; not alive, anyway. But the tech agents were already tracing the caller and he needed to keep the sociopath on the phone as long as he could.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shame on you, _Agent Taylor_. Are you trying to find me? It's not going to work. I'm too smart for you. You couldn't find me before and you're not going to find me now." The voice said angrily and breathed heavily. "Just for playing games with me and trying to find me, Vicky's going to get punished now." The voice said angrily and Vicky screamed crying pained when she was hit in the face and blood spewed from her nose and mouth.

When Danny heard Vicky's screams, he roared violently angry as he put his fist through a glass door and everyone in the office gasped horrified as Martin and Jeff grabbed him tightly and sat him in a chair.

"You sick son of a bitch! When I find you, I'm going to rip your damn heart out!" Danny roared violently as blood dripped down his arm.

"Piss me off again and the one who's going to be punished for your actions is going to be sweet little Vicky. Is that what you want?" The voice said angrily and Danny breathed furiously but didn't answer him. "I didn't think so. If you ever want to see Vicky again, you're going to do what I tell you, when I tell you. Do you understand me now, _Agent Taylor?_" The voice said calmly but angrily.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Danny said calmly but viciously.

"You'll get your instructions soon." The voice said seriously and then ended the call.

As soon as Cervantes ended the call he removed a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped the blood from Vicky's face.

"I'm very sorry about your pretty face, Vicky, but _Agent Taylor_ made me very angry. I had to show him that I wasn't playing games with him and that I meant what I told him." Cervantes said seriously but kindly as he softly soothed Vicky's face.

"Why are you doing this? I didn't do anything to you. I don't even know you." Vicky cried fearfully and very upset and Cervantes softly soothed her face and continued wiping blood from her face.

"You're a very sweet girl, honey. You're kind to all of your patients and everyone you meet. You always have a beautiful smile on your face and you never complain about anything. I know. I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I don't know you but you're wrong. I've been observing you for a very long time, enough to know that _Agent Taylor_ doesn't deserve you and that everyone at the hospital only takes advantage of you and work you to death." Cervantes said kindly as Vicky continued crying pained and fearfully. "Shhh. Don't be afraid, honey." He said kindly as he gently wiped away her tears.

"Why are you doing this?" Vicky cried fearfully and terribly upset and Cervantes sighed softly as he gently wiped away her tears.

"This has nothing to do with you, sweet girl. You just happened to be involved with that prick, _Agent Taylor_. He's going to pay for what he did and unfortunately you've been caught in the middle of all this. I know that you're afraid and confused but I'm not going to hurt you. But you do have to stay with me until I say so." Cervantes lied of course; he wasn't going to let Vicky go. She was a pawn in their game and he was going to have fun before he killed her.

"Where am I?" Vicky cried fearfully as she moved her head and tried to see through the blindfold that someone had put over her eyes.

"Hold on. Don't move, beautiful. Let me take this off. You don't need it anymore." Cervantes said kindly as he removed Vicky's blindfold, held her face in his hands and stared into her terrified her eyes. "Get me a wet towel right now. Ahora." He said seriously to a masked man that was standing next to him holding a large semi-automatic rifle. "I said now." Cervantes said with a vicious growl when the man wouldn't move, causing the masked man to leave the room.

"Where am I?" Vicky cried fearfully.

"I told you to calm down, okay. I'm not going to hurt you but I'm not going to tell you where we're at either. You're free to walk around the room as you wish. As you can see, there's a bed, a full bathroom, toiletries to clean up with and clean clothes to change into. However, as you can see for yourself, I don't want you trying to run away. So, I boarded up all the windows to your room. I…" Cervantes couldn't continue when the armed masked man returned to Vicky's room and handed Cervantes a wet towel.

"Come here. Let's clean you up a bit." Cervantes said kindly as he carefully wiped Vicky's face and head and she hissed pained. "I know. I'm very sorry, sweetie, but I couldn't let you run away before. I had to bring you with me, at least for a while." He said kindly as he finished cleaning the blood off of Vicky's face and head. "I'm going to leave now but I'll be back. In the meantime, I want you to change out of those bloody clothes. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be back." He said with a warm smile and Vicky stiffened in fear and disgust when he embraced and kissed her and then left the room with the masked gunman.

_**Friday, February 13**__**th**_

_**FBI Headquarters, 1:30PM**_

The medical staff finished treating Danny's wounds and bandaged his hand up to his forearm. When Danny put his fist through the window, it caused a large laceration on his forearm and cuts to his hand and wrist. Once cleaned up, Jack dragged Danny to his office and the rest of the team and Chuck followed behind. Jack roughly sat Danny on his office couch and glared angrily at him.

"Do you want me to lock your ass up until we find Vicky or are you going to act like an FBI agent and do your damn job?" Jack said harshly and then breathed heavily to try to compose himself.

"Brother, we know that this is a very difficult situation, okay. We know how much you love Vicky. But you have to calm down and think like an agent right now. We need your help to find this sociopath and you hurting yourself like this isn't going to help find Vicky any sooner. You're giving in to his taunts and that's exactly what he wants." Martin said somewhat sternly but compassionately and Danny sighed angrily as tears stained his face and Vivian embraced him tightly.

"You have to calm down, sweetheart. We're going to do whatever it takes to bring Vicky back safely and bring this maniac to justice. But like they said, do you really think that you're helping Vicky by hurting yourself, hmm? She knows how much you love her but she doesn't want you to hurt yourself. You know that. Instead of losing control like you're doing, calm down and help us to figure out who this maniac is. It's obvious that you're the target of his rage. So, we need to look back on any cases you've worked on and see if there's anyone that stands out." Vivian said compassionately as she held Danny and he cried furiously and emotionally as he held on to her dear life.

"What do you say, Pal? Are you going to calm down and help us find Vicky? Hmm? Danny, I swear on my life that we'll find Vicky and bring her home safely. You're not alone, okay. Everyone in this office and out there in the bullpen is working to bring Vicky back safely and catch this bastard. NYPD is involved also and they're running down some leads." Jeff said kindly but with conviction as he held Danny's hand in a brotherhood grip.

"So, what's it going to be, sweetie? Are you going to calm down and help us bring Vicky home?" Sam said caringly and Danny nodded crying.

"That's what we want, Danny. So, no more of the crap you've been pulling until now. You're going to get a hold of yourself and start looking through your old cases…" Jack said sternly but with compassionate undertones but couldn't continue when a woman knocked on Jack's door.

"Sir, there's some gentlemen here from the NYPD who want to speak with you. They said it's urgent." The woman said respectfully but concerned, she and everyone had witnessed what Danny did and it had shaken her up.

"Get them in here now. Go." Jack said seriously and the woman left.

Several minutes later Captain Jason Carmichael and Lieutenant Gabriel Alvarez arrived at Jack's office and introduced themselves to the rest of the team.

"Hey, Gabriel, you're working this case?" Chuck said kindly but with a confused smile.

"You two know each other?" Jack asked seriously.

"Yeah, we met after Danny and Martin were rescued from the woods. He was at the hospital giving blood and didn't leave until our boys were out of danger. So, ever since then, we've become really good friends and he's also helped me out in some of my cases." Chuck said respectfully.

"What do you have for us?" Jack asked seriously but kindly.

"First off, Jeff told me that the blood in the locker matched Juan 'loco' Perez, a junkie who was found last week floating in the Hudson. He had an extensive rap sheet longer than my arm. Anyway, we've asked around and the word on the street is that he was killed because he was shooting his mouth off about a job that he was going to get a lot of money for." Jason said seriously.

"What was the job?" Jack asked seriously.

"He'll get to that in a minute but there's something that I want to show you first. This is what Perez looked like when we found him." Gabriel said seriously and showed Jack a picture of the victim and Jack couldn't hide the shocked look in his eyes. "The victim's heart and tongue were cut out of his body and we haven't recovered them, probably never will. As bad as it is, that's not what worries me." Gabriel said seriously.

"What's going on? What are you talking about? Who cares if some damn junky is dead? I have to find my girlfriend." Danny said angrily.

"Danny…" Jeff said somewhat sternly and Danny glared at him.

"It's okay, Jeff. Don't worry about it. I know that he's very worried about the young lady and that's why we're doing everything we can on our end to help bring her home safely." Jason said thoughtfully and then nodded at Gabriel to continue.

"As I was saying, that's not what worries me." Gabriel said seriously as he handed Jack a close up of the victim's body. "There are signs that he was tortured before being killed. I haven't seen torture like this since I was a rookie. My first big case on the job was a murder. The victim had been tortured and his heart and tongue were cut out. Just like Perez." He said seriously.

"Did you ever solve that case? Who was the victim?" Vivian asked seriously.

"The victim's name was Dominic Rivera. It was a difficult one to solve because no one wanted to talk. They were too afraid of the suspect responsible. After a couple of months, someone finally came forward and told us who'd done the murder." Gabriel said seriously.

"What does that case have to do with Vicky's kidnapping? This doesn't make any sense." Martin said seriously and confused.

"I was getting to that. As I said before, the suspect in Vicky's case looked familiar to me. Now, I've been trying to enhance the video from the suspect at and around the flower shop but I couldn't get anything clear. So, I did more digging around and I found a witness who was hiding in the alley at the time and saw your suspect." Gabriel said seriously.

"Who's the witness? Are they willing to talk?" Danny said urgently and Martin squeezed his shoulder and gave him a serious look. So, he took a breath and tried to calm down.

"The witness is a homeless man named Teddy. He was hiding in a dumpster in the alley after he stole some food from the grocery store that's next to the flower shop." Gabriel said seriously and then sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

"What? What did he tell you?" Sam asked concerned.

"He gave a complete description of the suspect but he gave us something even better than that. Teddy says that the entire neighborhood knows who the suspect is but that no one is talking because they're scared to hell of him and his men." Gabriel said seriously as he gave Jason a concerned look.

"Did he give you a name?" Jack asked seriously but also expectantly.

"That's the problem." Jason said seriously concerned. "He could only give us the guy's nickname. They call him 'Teo'." Jason said seriously as he gave Jack a sketch of the suspect.

"That damn name sounded familiar. So, I ran a check for that alias in our database. I got several hits but only one name matched the description of your suspect. His name is Arturo 'Teo' Cervantes." Gabriel said seriously but couldn't continue when Danny suddenly gasped horrified, held and shook his head and then ran out of the room like a madman.

"Danny! Danny, what's wrong?" Martin said fearfully as he and the others ran after Danny but Danny ignored them.

"No, no, no." Danny said fearfully as he looked through old case files. "Damn it, where are you, you damn bastard! I know that you're in here!" Danny said furiously and he looked through the cabinet until he found the file that he was looking for.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on or are you going to try to do this on your own?" Jack said sternly and Danny angrily shoved the file in his hands and shook his head and Jack began reading. "Arturo 'Teo' Cervantes, Hispanic male responsible for the torture and subsequent death of Dominic Rivera, sentenced to life in prison. History of drug sells, possession, kidnapping, murder, weapons charges, extortion, and the list goes on. What's all this, Danny?" He asked somewhat sternly but concerned.

"Tell me that's not him." Danny cried angrily through gritted teeth but Gabriel nodded sadly as he sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry but that is him. We showed Teddy a lineup of different suspects and he picked Cervantes' picture right away. Did you know that he escaped when he first got to the prison? Jason and I were part of the team who captured him. We thought that he was still in prison. So, I called to see what was going on because I thought that maybe it was a mistake." Gabriel said seriously.

"It wasn't a mistake, though. According to Attica, Cervantes escaped two months ago and they're still looking for him." Jason said seriously.

"Why the hell weren't we notified of the escape?" Jack said angrily.

"Do you know what the hell he's capable of doing? When I first got to the FBI, we took down one of his closest friends, Sam Goodwin, and we were going to charge him with drug possession. In exchange for immunity, he turned on Cervantes and told us about a murder that Cervantes committed. He told us that Cervantes had brutally tortured and murdered a man, Dominic Rivera. We agreed but before he could testify, Cervantes got to him first. We found out where Goodwin was being held and HRT and several agents, including me, went in after him. Shots were fired and his men gave up but not Cervantes. He was going to shoot Sam Goodwin so we fired first and took him down. He was taken by MedEvac and I didn't see him again until the trial." Danny explained angrily.

"What happened with Sam Goodwin?" Vivian asked concerned.

"He was Cervantes' best friend and that didn't matter to him. When Cervantes got to him, he tortured Goodwin. Cervantes beat and stabbed him, burned him, broke his fingers and toes and ripped out several of his fingernails." Danny said furiously through gritted and then growled furiously as he fisted his hands.

"Don't even think about hitting anything again, brother. That's not going to help Vicky. So, calm down and take some breaths." Martin said sternly but compassionately as he held Danny's shoulders.

"Are you freakin' deaf, Fitz? Do you not hear what I'm saying? He's a sociopath, a damn killer. He has **my** girlfriend, the love of my life. How the hell do you want me to react?" Danny said furiously as tears stained his face and he shook out of fear and anger.

"You're not the only one who's dealt with Cervantes, Agent Taylor. The first time he escaped Jason and me were part of the team that captured him." Gabriel said seriously.

"The bastard didn't go down without a fight. He started shooting and hit me dead in the chest and in the abdomen. Next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital a month and a half later." Jason said with a heavy sigh as he opened his shirt and showed the scar on his chest that ran below his abdomen.

"Look, I know that you want to catch this psychotic bastard and we'll do whatever we have to, to bring your girlfriend back to you safely. But you can't be all gung-ho right now. You need to calm down and play this smart. My guess is that he hasn't figured out yet that we know who he is and that's how we need to keep it. So, starting right now, if you want your girlfriend back alive, handle yourself professionally like the Federal Agent that you are. Start treating this like any other kidnapping victim." Gabriel said sternly and Martin and Jeff held Danny tightly when he glared and growled viciously at Gabriel. "I know that your girlfriend is the victim, but you have to forget that thought for now. If it were another victim, would you be acting this way, hurting yourself? I don't think so. You need to stay cool, collected and do your job. Start doing your job and you'll get your girlfriend back safely. Lose control again now and while on the phone with this sociopath and you'll never see your girlfriend alive again. I know that you want her back safely. So, you better decide right now what you're going to do. Are you going to pull yourself together and do your job like you're supposed to, so that we can put this sociopath where he belongs? Or do you want to risk your girlfriend's life? Decide right now, Agent Taylor." Gabriel said harshly and Martin and Jeff dragged Danny to the bathroom when he growled violently furious and tried to pounce on Gabriel.

"What were you thinking talking to him like that?" Jack said gruffly.

"I'm sorry, Jack, but Gabriel's right. We can all sympathize with what Danny is going through but right now his behavior is erratic. He needs to keep calm, especially now that we who this scumbag is. If Danny loses control and calls this guy out, he's not going to hesitate to kill Vicky." Chuck said seriously.

"I'm not trying to be a jerk but this guy already went after my best friend, my brother and I don't want Agent Taylor to go through what I went through when he nearly killed Jason. I had to watch him lying in that hospital bed everyday for a month, unconscious, fighting for his life. Even when he did wake up, doctors still weren't sure that he was going to make it." Gabriel said seriously and Jason gently squeezed his shoulder.

"We've been trying to get him to calm down but it hasn't worked." Sam said very concerned.

"What happened to Agent Taylor's arm?" Jason suddenly asked seriously concerned.

"He was furious after the kidnapper called and decided to break the window with his fist." Jack said calmly but somewhat angrily and Jason gave Gabriel a serious look.

"Where did they take him?" Gabriel asked calmly but angrily.

"I don't know." Jack lied.

In the men's bathroom, Danny was shrieking and crying quietly but furiously.

"I'm going to kill that sick freak! Who the hell does he think he is talking to me like that?" He quietly shrieked furiously as he tried to leave but Martin and Jeff pushed him back and blocked the door. "Get the hell out of my way before I kick your damn ass!" Danny yelled furiously as he tried to get out but couldn't.

Danny was incredibly furious that his friends were stopping him from going after Gabriel. So, to release some of the fear and anger that he felt, Danny swung his fist hard toward Martin's face.

Martin knew what Danny was going to do before Danny's fist came toward his face. He could see in Danny's body language and eyes what was coming.

Martin put up his arm and easily blocked Danny's fist from connecting with his face. Danny wasn't going to give up so if he wanted a fight, then he was going to get one. If fighting with him was going to help Danny to release the fear and anger that he felt and get him to behave like the FBI agent that he was, then he'd give Danny a hell of a fight.

"If you think that fighting is going to help you, then get it over with! But if you don't start behaving like the best damn agent we all know you are, you might as well say goodbye to Vicky for the last time and sign her death sentence! You're going to get her killed! Is that what you want, damn it! Is it?" Martin said harshly as he grabbed Danny by the collar and slammed him hard against the wall.

Danny was furious at hearing Martin's words and saw red. Forget Martin Fitzgerald. The man standing in front of him was no longer Martin. Instead, it was the sadistic animal who'd taken the love of his life. Danny roared violently as he pounced on Martin and they began exchanging punches.

"Danny, stop!" Jeff yelled horrified and angrily as he tried to intervene but Martin yelled at him.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jack said furiously as he and the others ran into the bathroom just as Danny punched Martin in his face.

"Stay the hell out of this!" Danny roared furiously as he coughed and gagged, causing everyone to move away when he began vomiting on the floor several times and then fell to his knees completely exhausted as he shook uncontrollably and cried angrily.

Everyone was in shock and they didn't know what to do.

"I want all of you to leave right now. I want to talk to Agent Taylor alone." Gabriel said seriously and Danny glared viciously at him and spit on the floor.

"I don't have a damn thing to say to you and I'm sure as hell not interested in whatever the hell you have to say." Danny said angrily but exhausted.

"Gabriel…" Chuck said concerned.

"I'm not going to hurt him, Chuck and Agent Taylor isn't going to hurt me either. I guarantee it. But I do need to speak to him alone. So, I need everyone, including Jason, to leave us alone. We'll be out soon." Gabriel said kindly but seriously.

"Do you want us to leave, sweetheart?" Vivian asked concerned as she soothed his face. Although Danny was angry, Viv knew that Danny cared about her and would never disrespect her in any way like he was doing to everyone else. She was right.

"It's fine, Viv. Leave us alone. I won't kill him." Danny said calmly but angrily as he glared at Gabriel.

"All right, fine. But this needs to stop, Danny. If you can't screw your head on straight and do what you can to help us bring Vicky back safe, then you may as well go home now." Viv said somewhat sternly but caringly and he glared at her but didn't say anything. "We won't stand for this behavior anymore, Danny. You're completely out of control. Look at what you've done here today. You've gone as far as hurting Martin, one of your own, your family. You have a decision to make, Danny Taylor. This is your last chance to help us find Vicky and this sociopath. When you walk out that door, you better have made a decision. If you can't or won't do right by Vicky, then you're going down to a holding cell, guarded by several agents. The ball's on your court, Danny Taylor. What are you going to do?" Viv said calmly but sternly and Danny couldn't stop the tears that escaped his eyes, Viv's words hurt him. "Let's go. They need to talk alone. Now." Viv said in a no-nonsense tone and everyone, except Danny and Gabriel, left the men's restroom.

"What the hell do you want?" Danny said calmly but angrily as he stood up from the floor and rinsed his face and mouth.

"Agent Taylor, I'd like you to meet Staci Palmer." Gabriel said seriously as he handed a picture to Danny and sighed heavily as his nose reddened and his eyes glistened.

Danny took the picture and began listening to what Gabriel had to say over the next half hour. He couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been and how unjustly he'd treated Gabriel. He wasn't a bad guy. He was a good cop who deserved justice just like him. He'd suffered terribly and knew all too well what it felt like to want revenge on someone.

"I was wrong, Lieutenant Alvarez. I'm sorry." Danny cried softly as he held out his hand and the other man took it.

"Apology accepted. Call me, Gabriel." He said kindly as he sniffed, put the woman's picture in his shirt pocket and wiped his face clean of the tears he'd shed.

"Danny." Danny sniffled softly as he tried to regain his composure.

"So, what's it going to be, _FBI Special Agent Danny Taylor_?" Gabriel said softly but confidently and Danny tightly gripped his hand in a brotherhood grip.

"Help me bring my girlfriend back safely and I promise you that we'll both get what we want." Danny said with conviction.

"Justice." Gabriel said seriously as he swallowed hard. "So, have you made your decision, Danny?" He said kindly and Danny breathed heavily and nodded. "Good. Let's bring your girl home." He said with conviction as he put an arm around Danny's shoulder and they left the restroom, causing the others to look at them shocked.

"I think that, Agent Taylor…" Gabriel said kindly and then smiled when Danny glared at him. "…Danny, is ready to behave like an FBI Agent and help us find this maniac." He said with a proud smile and everyone cheered.

"Let's find this sick son of a bitch and put him where he belongs." Danny said seriously as he breathed heavily.

"You all heard, Agent Taylor. Let's catch this sociopath and bring Vicky home." Martin said loudly and everyone began working again.

All of a sudden, however, Danny couldn't bring himself to look at Martin. Martin was his best friend and he'd hurt him terribly. Danny felt like scum and since he couldn't bury his head in the sand like the coward he'd behaved, he opted for walking outside to the balcony where he could be alone. He sighed heavily and leaned on his hands as he stared out into the city.

Danny was so lost him in thought that he didn't hear the door open behind him sometime later.

"Danny…" Martin said compassionately as he gently squeezed Danny's shoulder but Danny shook his head as his nose reddened furiously and his eyes watered.

"It's not right, Martin." Danny said softly as his voice broke.

"Forget about it, brother. That's all over and done with." He said compassionately and Danny glared at him, angrier with himself than Martin. "Come on. I'm okay. Really. Look, I knew what was coming, so I egged you on further. I just wanted to get all that fear and anger out of you. I did it so you'd finally react and help us to catch this deranged lunatic and bring Vicky back to you." Martin said kindly.

"I'm sorry, Martin. I had no right to do what I did to you. You're my best friend and instead of letting you guys help me, I beat the crap out of you." Danny said seriously and then looked at Martin incredulously when he began laughing. "What's so funny?" He asked incredulously and somewhat angrily.

"You didn't kick my ass, Brother. I got in a couple of good licks myself. How's your jaw, by the way?" Martin teased chuckling amused and Danny laughed amused as tears stained his exhausted face.

"You have a hell of a right hook." Danny laughed as he soothed his bruised jaw.

"Good. That'll teach you to misbehave." Martin laughed amused. "So, are you ready to be an agent again and help us catch this scumbag and whoever's helping him?" He said with a kind smile and Danny sighed as he nodded. "Good. Come on. Let's go back inside." He said kindly and then led Danny back to the bullpen.

As soon as they entered the bullpen, Danny's phone rang and he answered it after Jack signaled to him.

"Taylor." Danny said seriously as he heard the familiar eerie music on the other line.

"If you want to see Vicky alive again, you've got twenty-four hours to pay me five million dollars." The voice said calmly.

"That's impossible. I can't come up with that kind of money in twenty-four hours. I'm going to need more time. I also need a proof of life. How do I know that you haven't killed her already?" Danny said calmly but seriously.

"Vicky, someone wants to say hello to you, sweetie." The voice said kindly as he put the phone to her ear and kissed her cheek.

"Hello?" Vicky said calmly but fearfully as her voice shook.

"Vicky? Are you okay?" Danny asked calmly but he felt himself begin to panic as his eyes bulged and his breathing quickened, causing him to regain his composure when Gabriel gave him a very harsh look and a pointed a finger at him.

"Yes." Vicky said with a shaky breath.

"That's enough, beautiful." The voice said kindly as he kissed her cheek again and smiled when he could feel her shaking body as he embraced her from behind. "That's enough, _Agent Taylor_. You'll get your drop point instructions soon. If my demands aren't met, sweet Vicky will suffer the consequences." The voice said seriously and ended the call, causing Danny to shudder and breathe heavily.

"Stay calm, Danny. Remember what we talked about." Gabriel said seriously but compassionately as he squeezed Danny's shoulders and Danny breathed shakily. "Now, let's find this piece of garbage and put him where he belongs." He said seriously.


	5. Chapter 5-Hell

Disclaimer: I do not own Without a Trace or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created myself. So, do not attempt to sue me as this story is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 5: Hell

_**FBI Headquarters, 11:00PM…**_

"You don't have a choice, Danny. You need to go home and get some rest. Don't worry. We're going to work Vicky's case day and night, 24/7 until we get her back. For now, though, you're going home to rest. And just to make sure that you're not going to try to come back to the office, your car is staying here and I'm going to have Agent Cassidy escort you home." Jack said sternly but compassionately.

"You can't do this to me, Jack. I have to find Vicky. I'm no good to her sitting at home not doing a damn thing to help her." Danny said angrily as he stood in Jack's office.

"It's for your own good, Danny. You haven't slept in three days. You're not going to be any good to her if you don't get some rest. So, go home, get some sleep and then you can come back tomorrow morning. We'll keep working her case. You have my word. Goodnight." Jack said sympathetically as he led Danny to the elevator and Agent Cassidy got in as well. "You have your orders. Understood?" He said kindly but seriously and they left.

Danny was still angry when Agent Cassidy arrived at his apartment at midnight. Of course he was exhausted but there was no way in hell that he was going to be able to sleep knowing that the love of his life was being held captive somewhere by a sadistic lunatic. He unlocked his door and then went inside. Just as he was about to turn on the light, he was attacked from behind. He tried fighting off the attack but he was left seeing stars when the attacker pulled his hair tightly and slammed his face into the wall. Unable to fight anymore, his attacker held him in a chokehold and pulled his arms behind his back.

All of a sudden, the light in his apartment came on and not even the beating he'd just suffered compared to the horror that was staring back at him. In the middle of his living room, beaten, bloodied, and tied to a chair, was his love Vicky and next to her stood Cervantes aiming a gun at her head.

"You sick son of a bitch! Let her go or I'm going to rip your damn heart out!" Danny yelled furiously as he struggled to get free, earning him a swift kick to the face, courtesy of Cervantes.

"Shut the hell up. You're not in any position to demand anything, Taylor." Cervantes said angrily and then pulled and held Danny's hair tightly. "All you had to do was follow the rules and pay me my money but you decided to play FBI agent and not do as you were told. So, guess what happens now? You get to watch sweet Vicky die in front of you. You're going to live the rest of your pathetic life remembering every day that you got her killed. Say goodbye, Taylor." Cervantes said furiously as he pulled the trigger and Danny screamed crying violently as he fell to the floor.

"Danny! Danny, wake up!" Martin yelled fearfully of Danny's blood-curdling screams. Danny had fallen asleep on Jack's office couch and Jack had Martin watch him while he went to talk to the tech agents. "Danny, damn it, wake up!" He yelled as he shook Danny roughly but Danny continued trapped in a deep, terrorized sleep.

"What the hell is going on here?" Jack yelled harshly out of fear as he and the others ran into his office.

"He's trapped in a damn nightmare. I'm trying to wake him up but I can't." Martin said urgently and Jack immediately grabbed a bottle of water from his office fridge and threw it on Danny's face. That was enough to cause Danny to wake up coughing and gagging uncontrollably. "Danny, Danny, calm down. Calm down and breathe, brother. You were having a nightmare." He said shaken, causing Danny to throw up in the garbage can that Jack put in front of him.

"Breathe, Danny, it's over. It was just a nightmare. It wasn't real." Jack said with a heavy breath as he squeezed Danny's shoulders and neck but Danny held his head and cried distraught for fifteen minutes until he managed to calm down again. "Drink this water, Danny. Come on." He said compassionately as he offered Danny some water and he drank it.

"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked seriously but compassionately and Danny sighed heavily as he nodded. "I know how tough this is but you have to keep it together alright. Have you received any instructions about the ransom?"

"No, nothing yet. This is a waste of time. We both know that he has no intention of letting Vicky go. We need to find him before he kills her." Danny said frustrated as he paced Jack's office.

"We're not going to let that happen, Danny." Jack said with conviction. All of a sudden, his office phone rang and he answered it. "Malone." He barked into the phone and then a concerned look crossed his face. "Is Chuck down there now? Have Chuck escort him to my office right now. Right." He said seriously concerned and then ended the call.

"What's going on, Jack? What was that all about?" Viv asked confused.

"You'll find out now when Chuck gets here?" Jack said seriously and Chuck knocked on his door several minutes later as he held a little boy's hand.

"Lucas, que haces aqui? What are you doing here, buddy? Where's your mom?" Danny said kindly to his seven-year-old neighbor, Lucas Hernandez.

"Hello, Mr. Taylor." Lucas said with a big smile as he threw his arms around Danny's waist and held him tightly so Danny did the same as he smiled. "Are you okay? What happened to your arm?" He asked of Danny's bandaged arm.

"I'm okay. I just cut myself making breakfast for sweet Princess Vicky." Danny said with a smile and Lucas giggled amused. "A ver, en que quedamos? You agreed to call me Danny, not Mr. Taylor. So, what brings you here, pal? How did you get here? Did you come with your mommy?" He asked with a kind smile.

"Mommy's still working. I was walking to the park to play but the old man said that he needed my help." Lucas said with a smile and everyone immediately became concerned.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart? What did we say about talking to strangers? Adults never ask kids for help. Now, tell me who you're talking about." Danny said seriously concerned.

"I know what you said about strangers, Danny, but the old man said that he needed your help very much. He said that Ms. Vicky got hurt and that he had to come find you. He said that he's a friend of Ms. Vicky and had to help her." Lucas said concerned and Danny went pale and his breathing increased rapidly. "Are you sick too, Danny? You look like a ghost." He said somewhat fearfully and it caused Danny to react.

"No, I'm okay, pal. Listen, this old man, do you know where he's at?" Danny said kindly as he tried to regain his composure.

"He brought me here. He's downstairs. He's a lot worried about Ms. Vicky." Lucas said concerned as he began biting his fingers.

"He's in the building?" Jack asked kindly but Lucas remained quiet.

"Lucas, it's okay to talk to him. This is my boss and very good friend Jack Malone. He's one of the good guys, like me. So, answer the question, pal. Is the old man in the building?" He said kindly as he gently removed Lucas's hands from his mouth.

"Uh-huh. He promised to take me to the park after we came here." Lucas said with a big smile on his face and Jack picked up his office phone.

"Natalie, the old man that came with the little boy Chuck brought up here, where is he right now? He's the suspect that we're after." Jack said seriously and urgently.

"Oh no. I'm so sorry, Agent Malone, but he just left the building. He said that he wasn't feeling well. I was going to call an ambulance but he declined." Natalie said regretfully.

"Damn it. Get some agents on him now. Do it." Jack said harshly and then slammed his phone down. He was so angry about having missed capturing Vicky's kidnapper that he didn't think of the little boy now sobbing fearfully as he held on tightly to Danny's waist. "I'm very sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean to scare you like that. It's just that it was really important for us to talk to the old man that brought you here." Jack said compassionately as he gently soothed the little boy's head, causing Danny to carry Lucas in his arms when he sobbed more fearfully.

"No, don't cry like that, sweetie. Jack is not going to hurt you, okay. He's just upset because in order to help Ms. Vicky, we needed to talk to the gentleman who brought you here. Now, we can't talk to him and know where Ms. Vicky is because he already left." Danny said kindly as he soothed and kissed Lucas's back and head and Lucas tightly wrapped his arms around Danny's neck as he shook fearfully.

"Is Ms. Vicky going to be okay?" Lucas cried emotionally.

"Of course she's going to be okay. You'll see." Danny said smiling but inwardly he felt all of the air leave his lungs as fear gripped his very soul.

"Sweetie, how would you like to help us find Ms. Vicky? If you can tell us what the old man looked like, we can find him and he'll be able to take us to where Ms. Vicky is." Viv said kindly as she gently wiped away his tears.

"I can't draw." Lucas cried upset.

"You don't have to, sweetie. We have a friend who is very good at drawing people. All you have to do is tell him what the old man looked like. You can tell him anything you can remember; like what his face looks like, his hair, and anything else that you can remember. So, do you think that you can help us?" Sam said kindly as she soothed his head and back and he sobbed emotionally as he nodded.

"Calm down and breathe, okay, kiddo. I don't want anything to happen to you. I told you that these are my friends so don't be afraid of them, alright. Now, I want you to go with Agent Chuck. He's going to take you to see our friend and our friend is going to draw the old man that brought you here." Danny said kindly.

"Are you coming, Danny? Please don't leave me alone." Lucas sobbed emotionally as he continued to look at Jack fearfully.

"Stop being afraid of him, sweetheart. I know that he looks like an ugly ogre but Jack is not going to hurt you. I promise. Scouts honor." Danny said with a smile and everyone chuckled amused when Lucas giggled crying.

"Listen, for now, I need you to go with Agent Chuck. I have to speak to Jack and my friends first, but I'll be there in a few minutes, okay." Danny said smiling.

"Come on, buddy. He'll be by in a few minutes. Let's run away from the ugly, smelly ogre. Come on, come on. Run." Agent Chuck laughed amused as he carried Lucas and ran out of Jack's office as Lucas laughed hysterically.

Danny was all smiles when Lucas was in the room but as soon as Jeff closed the door, Danny began swearing and shaking.

"I can't believe that that son of a bitch was here and we just let him walk away." Danny said quietly but furiously. He knew that Lucas was nearby so he couldn't lose control and frighten the child further.

"I already have agents canvasing the surrounding area looking for him. We're going to find him." Jack said seriously.

"That's bull and you know it. All we're doing is sitting around with our thumbs up our asses and not doing a damn thing to catch that bastard and save Vicky." Danny raged quietly as he held his head and shook.

"We're doing everything we can and we're not going to stop until we find them." Jack said seriously but couldn't continue when his office phone rang. "Malone." He barked into the phone and he looked at Danny concerned. "We'll be right there." He said seriously. "Follow me." He said compassionately as he gently squeezed Danny's shoulder.

"What? What happened?" Danny said fearfully.

"Lucas just gave Chuck an envelope that the old man gave him for you." Jack said concerned and Danny ran out of the office and headed to the office where Chuck and Lucas were.

"Danny, don't…" Chuck said very concerned as he held an open envelope but Danny ripped it out of his hands.

Danny gasped horrified at the picture he now held in his hands. It was a picture of a badly beaten and bloody Vicky. Along with the picture was a note. _**"This is only the beginning. You are to deliver $5 Million dollars by three o'clock tomorrow afternoon to Shady Meadows Cemetery. If I don't have my money by then, you'll never see sweet Vicky alive again."**_Danny read silently and couldn't stop the tears of fury that flowed freely down his face.

"Danny, what's wrong? Why are you crying like that? Why are you angry? Did I do something wrong?" Lucas cried upset and Danny picked him up and embraced him tightly as he shook, breathed heavily, and attempted to control himself. "Danny, what's wrong? What was in that envelope?" He cried fearfully as he held Danny tightly but Danny couldn't talk as he shook his head.

"Don't cry like that, honey. Danny's okay. He's just…he's…um…happy that you helped him out a lot. Thanks to your help, we're going to find Ms. Vicky. You did a great job, honey. We're very proud of you." Viv said kindly.

"You're not mad at me, Danny?" Lucas cried emotionally and Danny shook his head.

"I could never be at you, sweetheart. I just wish that we could find the old man make sure that he's okay too." Danny said caringly as his voice shook.

"Maybe the other man took him home or to the doctor in that cool car." Lucas sniffled emotionally as he tried to calm down.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart? What man are you talking about? Please tell me. It's very important, Lucas." Danny said shaken.

"Before he came up to me he was standing by a car talking to a man. He said that the man was his friend and that he was going to go back to take care of Ms. Vicky until you got there." Lucas said sniffling and everyone looked at each other seriously concerned.

"Sweetheart, do you know what his friend looked like? Do you know what the car looked like? Do you think that you can talk to our friend so that he can draw him?" Danny said somewhat urgently.

"The car was cool but it was weird in the back." Lucas said confused.

"What was weird about it, pal?" Danny said kindly.

"It had weird letters and numbers in the back." Lucas said confused but kindly.

"License plate." Chuck said shocked. "Lucas, do you remember what the numbers and letters looked like? Can you write it on a paper if I give you one?" Chuck said kindly and Lucas smiled.

"Uh-huh," Lucas said smiling and Danny sat him at the desk and he immediately began writing.

"Honey, do you know what the old man's friend looks like? Is he old like the old man?" Sam asked gently but Lucas shook his head. "Is he young?" She asked but he looked at her confused. "What I mean is, is he young like a boy or is he young like Danny?" Sam said kindly but Lucas continued looking at her confused.

"Baby, please answer her question. You haven't done anything wrong. I promise. Just tell us what he looked like so that we can help Vicky and the old man." Danny said caringly as tears escaped his eyes and he embraced Lucas carefully tight.

"Please don't cry, Danny. I'll tell you what he looks like." Lucas said sadly as he wiped away Danny's tears and laid his head on Danny's shoulder.

"What are you confused about, hmm? If you don't know, it's okay. We'll figure it out." Jack said kindly as he gently ruffled Lucas's hair.

"I know what he looks like but his face looked scary." Lucas replied upset.

"What do you mean? Did he say something to you?" Danny asked concerned.

"He didn't talk to me. He only talked to the old man." Lucas said with a heavy sigh. "His face was scary. Danny, do you remember what daddy did to my legs with the fire when I was littler?" He said as tears escaped his eyes.

"Why are you remembering that now, baby? Remember, I called some friends and they put him in jail. So, he can't hurt you anymore, okay. He's going to be in jail for a long time." Danny said compassionately but concerned.

"I know that, Danny, but my legs aren't pretty anymore. Well, the old man's friend, one side of his face looks like how my legs look like now. That's why I don't know if he's young like you." Lucas said with a sniffled as tears stained his small face.

"Did you see his entire face?" Danny asked kindly and Lucas nodded. "Then, that's all we need. Just tell my friend how he looks, and my friend can draw him even with the scars, okay. That's not a problem." Danny said with a kind smile as he soothed and kissed Lucas's head.

"Do you think you're ready to tell me what the man looked like, buddy? I can draw anything you tell me. I promise." William, the tech agent, said kindly as he held out his hand and Lucas nodded. "Come on. Sit down and tell me everything that you can remember, okay."

"Lucas, I want you to stay here with my friend William, okay. I'll be back in a little while." Danny said kindly but Lucas looked at him fearfully. "No one here is going to hurt you, sweetheart. I promise. I'll be right outside with my friends. We're going to see if we can find the old man's friend and Ms. Vicky with the letters and numbers that you gave us, okay. So, I won't be far away. Then, in a little while I'll call your mom so that she can pick you up." Danny said kindly as he calmed down.

"While they do that, Lucas, how about I get you something to eat?" Viv said kindly and Lucas looked toward Danny who smiled and nodded. Lucas smiled shyly and nodded at Viv as he looked down. "Alright, honey, I'll be right back." She said smiling and they all left the room, leaving Lucas and William to talk.

"Son of a bitch." Danny said furiously through gritted teeth as he shook uncontrollably.

"Calm down, Agent Taylor." Jason said seriously.

"Don't tell me to calm down. Look at her. Look at her, damn it," Danny quietly cried furiously through gritted teeth as he shoved Vicky's picture in Jason's face and Jason winced. "We had him under our damn noses and we let him get away." He quietly cried furiously.

"Calm down and breathe, brother. I swear to you that we're going to bring Vicky back to you safely. Now, come and sit down. Let's see if we can get the perp's information with the plate number that Lucas gave us." Martin said compassionately as they sat at the conference table and Martin began running the license plate through their system.

"Bullseye." Jeff said as he looked at the screen. "The plate is registered to a Manolo Flores in Queens." He said seriously and they searched for the name in their database. "This is not good. Manolo Flores, convictions for attempted murder, sexual assault, witness intimidation, and countless weapons charges." He said seriously and Danny tightly held his head.

"Is there a picture of this guy?" Gabriel said seriously and then angrily fisted his hand when Martin put the man's picture on the computer screen. "You piece of shit. I should've known that you'd be involved with that sadistic animal." Gabriel said through gritted teeth.

"You know this guy? How?" Jack said seriously and Gabriel angrily wiped away the tears that rolled down his face.

"This piece of shit of is Arturo Cervantes's right-hand man. Seven years ago these freakin' animals kidnapped, tortured, and murdered my wife and unborn child. He was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences but he escaped from prison. I've been hunting him down ever since but I haven't been able to find him. I swore to my wife and unborn baby that I was going to make him pay and now that I know that he's also behind this I'm not going to stop until I find him." Gabriel said calmly but every word was filled with venom.

"I'm not going to let you ruin your life, Gabriel. You know that. We're going to capture him and you're going to let the Justice System handle him. He'll pay for what he did to Julie." Jason said seriously as he squeezed Gabriel's shoulder.

"We need to find him. I'm going to make him pay for what he did to Julie." Gabriel said calmly but furiously and then turned to Danny. "I swear to you that we're going to find these miserable animals before they can hurt Vicky again. They won't get away with what they did to Julie and for hurting Vicky. The day I lost my wife Julie and my child is the day I lost the will to live. I'll be damned if I let that happen to you. Now that I know that Flores is behind this I'm not going to stop until we find him and bring Vicky back to you alive." Gabriel said with conviction as tears stained his face.

Everyone, except Danny and Jason, was shocked by Gabriel's confession. They looked at each other in complete shock. Jack was about to say something but couldn't, however, when William walked up to the conference table.

"Where's Lucas?" Danny cried quietly but somewhat angrily.

"He's still in the room, Danny. He's waiting for the food that Vivian promised him." William said respectfully and Viv went to get him the food. "I thought you might want to see this." He said kindly as he held an electronic pad. "Before he gave me a description of the old man's friend, Lucas asked me if I knew how to draw the car that the old man's friend was driving. This is what we came up with." William said kindly as he showed Danny the sketch of Flores's car and license plate.

"I'm going to put out an APB on that car right now but I'll tell them not to stop him. If we can tail the car it could lead us to where they're holding Vicky.

"All right, you can go ahead and put that APB out on that car. Jeff, I need you to get a warrant to search his last known address. As soon as you get it, take your team there to execute the warrant. Watch your back." Jack said seriously and then addressed the rest of the bullpen about what was happening and assigned each of them a different task.

_**Back in William's Office…**_

Viv entered the office and immediately became concerned when she found Lucas crying and shaking. She put the food on the table and then crouched in front of Lucas as she gently took a hold of his hands.

"What's wrong, honey? Why are you crying like that? You're safe here, okay. No one is going to hurt you." Viv said kindly.

"You're a liar. I heard what Danny's boss said. The old man and the man with the car hurt Ms. Vicky and made her go way. Now, he's going to come back and hurt me too." Lucas cried shaking very emotionally and fearfully and Viv immediately embraced him tightly and grabbed her phone.

"Danny, get in here right now. We have a problem." Viv said seriously as she spoke into her phone and then ended the call; immediately, Danny and the others ran into William's office.

"Hey, hey, what's going on, sweetheart? Why are you crying like that?" Danny said very concerned as he took a hold of Lucas and Viv explained what Lucas had said to her.

"Now, those bad men are going to hurt me too." Lucas cried very emotionally and fearfully as he shook uncontrollably.

"Shhh. That's not true, baby. I promise that nothing is going to happen to you, okay. Thanks to you, Ms. Vicky is going to be okay and we're going to put the bad guys in jail forever. You know that I would never let anything happen to you." Danny said with conviction but Lucas shook his head and continued crying.

"Let me get him." Gabriel said kindly and gently took a hold of Lucas and sat him at the table. "Sweetie, my name is Gabriel and I don't want you to be scared, okay. I'm going to send you and your mommy somewhere safe while I go get the bad guys with everyone here. But you have to listen to Danny, Vivian, and everyone here when we tell you that we're going to keep you safe and that no one is going to come after you, okay. I promise, cross my heart. So, I want you to listen to Danny. I want you to be a brave boy. Calm down and eat this food that Ms. Vivian brought for you. While you do that, I'm going to go with Jason to pick up your mommy and bring her here with you, okay." Gabriel said compassionately and Lucas cried emotionally.

"Mommy's not at home. She's working." Lucas cried breathlessly and Gabriel soothed his back and fed him some water.

"Lucas, baby, is mommy still working at the hospital?" Danny asked gently and Lucas nodded crying. "His mother works in the same hospital as Vicky does. She's a CNA in Vicky's floor." Danny said kindly as he wrote down her information on a piece of paper and handed it to Gabriel.

"We'll go pick her up right now and bring her here." Jason said kindly as he pocketed the paper. "Before we leave, sweetie, we want to see you calm and eating all of this food. In fact, I'm very hungry because I haven't eaten. So, if you don't eat this food, I just might." He said with a smile as he reached for the sub-sandwich, chips, cookies, and juice. Everyone laughed amused when Lucas laughed crying and shook his head as he threw his arms over the food to guard it from Jason. "Alright, start eating." Jason chuckled amused and Lucas giggled crying as he began eating quickly. "No, take your time, sweetie. Eat slowly. We're going to go pick mommy up right now and we'll be back soon." He said smiling and then left with Gabriel.

"Are you leaving, Danny?" Lucas said with a fearful look and Danny sat next to him.

"No, sweetie, I'm not leaving. While my friends talk outside I'm going to stay here with you, okay." Danny said smiling and then ate the potato chip that Lucas offered him.

"We'll be in the bullpen if you need anything at all." Jack said kindly and the rest of the team left.

"Danny, is Ms. Vicky going to be okay?" Lucas asked sadly and Danny gently cleaned his face.

"Of course she's going to be okay, sweetie. Thanks to you, we're going to find Vicky and put the bad guys away forever." Danny said with a smile but inside he was terrified that he was going to lose his precious Vicky.

_**Catskills, New York…**_

_**Friday, February 13**__**th**__**, Sunset…**_

"Why are you doing this? Even if you kill me you're not going to get away with it. Danny's going to find you and when he does, he's going to make you pay for what you've done." Vicky cried weakly but angrily as she sat taped to a chair badly beaten, bloodied, bruised and with one eye nearly completely swollen shut from the repeated blows Cervantes landed to her face.

Vicky was scared to death but there was no way that she was going to beg this sociopath for her life. It's exactly what he wanted. No matter what he told Danny and his team Vicky knew in her heart that he had no intention of letting her live. So, all she could do was pray that Danny would find her in time and try to be strong enough to endure the hell that this sociopath had in store for her.

"This isn't about you, honey. This is about making Danny pay for ruining my life. You just happened to get caught up in the middle of all this." Cervantes said seriously as he tended to Vicky's wounds.

"What's the point of cleaning my wounds if we both know that you're just going to kill me." Vicky said defiantly and then hissed pained when Cervantes tightly held her face.

"Shut up." Cervantes said through gritted teeth and then released her. "I already told you that I'm not going to kill you. Once I get my money and I'm far enough away, I'll get a message to Danny and his teammates about where to find you. By the time they get here, I'll be long gone, enjoying my millions on the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean." He said smiling.

"Danny's not going to stop until you're in jail where you belong." Vicky said weakly all of a sudden and gave in to complete darkness, bringing a smile to Cervantes's face.

"Why don't you kill her already and be done with it? We both know that you're going to kill her anyway." Manolo Flores said smiling.

"I'm going to have some fun with her and Danny. Then, when I get bored, I'll kill her." Cervantes said with an evil chuckle as he wiped the blood from Vicky's face as she remained unconscious. "Is the connection secure yet?" He said seriously.

"We'll be ready to go live in one hour. Even with all their fancy toys, they're not going to be able to track us." Manolo Flores said seriously.

"She'll be ready by then so finish up as quick as you can. I want to have some fun with Danny before I dispose of his sweet Vicky." Cervantes said with a smile.

_**FBI Headquarters, 7:30PM**_

_**Friday, February 13**__**th**__**…**_

"How are you holding up, buddy?" Martin asked kindly as he gave Danny a mug of steaming hot coffee and Danny began drinking it.

"How do you think I'm doing, Fitz? A sadistic sociopath is holding captive the love of my life and demanding five million dollars to release her. But we both know damn well that he has no intention of releasing her." Danny said frustrated and then sighed heavily and Martin squeezed his shoulder.

"I can't begin to imagine what you're going through and I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I do. What I can tell you is that we're all here for you and we're not going to stop until we get Vicky back safely. We'll do whatever it takes but that bastard and anyone involved is going to pay hell. I promise you that." Martin said compassionately and with conviction.

"I don't…" Danny tried but couldn't continue when his phone rang and he answered it. "Hello?" He said seriously.

"You'll do wise to listen to your friend. He's got a gift for you." Cervantes chuckled evilly and then ended the call.

All of sudden, William came running into the bullpen.

"Danny, you've got a video call coming in! I've tried tracking it but the signal is bouncing off of towers in countless countries around the world! Come on, you've got to take the call! Hurry!" William said urgently and Danny and everyone else ran into the tech room.

"Good evening, Agent Taylor. How nice of you to join us this evening." A masked Cervantes greeted Danny as he soothed Vicky's face. "Say hello to your friends, sweetie. Now." He said seriously as he tightly held her face.

"Danny." Vicky cried fearfully.

"What the hell do you want from us? Why are you doing this?" Danny said angrily as he tried to keep his composure. He knew who this animal was but Danny wasn't going to let him know the truth.

"I already told you, Agent Taylor. I want $5 Million dollars by tomorrow or you won't see this pretty thing again." Cervantes said seriously.

"I already told you that I can't come up with that kind of money in a day. I need more time." Danny said calmly but angrily.

"You think that I'm playing games with you? Think again." Cervantes said angrily and Vicky screamed when he poured ice water over her for half a minute and then punched her face several times, causing Danny to scream furiously.

"I'm going to rip your fucking heart out!" Danny yelled furiously as he fisted his hands and as punishment, Cervantes shocked Vicky several times with electric cables until she completely soiled herself.

"Just…kill me already…and…get it…over with." Vicky weakly cried in agony as she threw up and gave in to complete darkness.

"I'm not going to stop until I find you! I swear that you're going to pay hell for everything that you've done to us! You're going to beg for your life but it's not going to matter, you piece of shit!" Danny screamed furiously.

"It's your own fault that this happened to sweet Vicky. I didn't want to hurt her but you thought that I was all talk and no action. Now you know that I mean business, don't you? You've got until three o'clock tomorrow afternoon to get me my money or you won't ever see Vicky alive again." Cervantes said angrily and then ended the video call.

_**FBI Headquarters, 9:00AM…**_

_**Saturday, February 14th…**_

Danny and the others were talking in the bullpen when Agent Chuck came up to Jack and whispered inaudibly to him. Jack's face immediately became ashen and he took a shaky breath. Jack whispered to Chuck who then nodded and left downstairs.

"What's going on, Jack?" Viv asked concerned as she saw her friend's pale features.

"What is it?" Danny asked shakily as an overwhelming feeling of dread filled him. "What did Chuck say to you?" He said seriously, causing Gabriel's phone to suddenly ring and he walked several feet away and then returned.

"Please sit down, Danny." Gabriel said gently.

"I'm not sitting down so you better tell me what the hell is going on. Is it Vicky? Did you find her? Tell me, damn it!" Danny yelled furiously as he grabbed Gabriel by the collar and shook him violently.

As soon as Danny did that, Martin and Jack grabbed a tight hold of him and got him off of Gabriel.

"You have to calm down, Danny. We don't know anything yet for sure but I'll tell you what's going on. NYPD just discovered a woman's body in the Hudson River and she matches Vicky's description." Jack explained cautiously and Danny cried furiously and distraught as he shook uncontrollably.


	6. Chapter 6-Nightmare

Disclaimer: I do not own Without a Trace or any of its characters. I only own the characters that I've created myself. So, do not attempt to sue me as this story is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter Six- Nightmare

"Agent Taylor, you have to calm down. We don't know for certain that Vicky's the person that we found. We haven't confirmed the victim's identity yet." Jason said compassionately.

"Tell me where she is right now. I want to see her." Danny cried furiously.

"You're not driving anywhere in that condition, Danny. I'll take you to the scene but you're not getting out of the car. Do I make myself clear? I'll identify whether it's Vicky's body or not. If it is her, you don't need that to be your last memory of Vicky." Martin said sternly as his voice cracked with emotion and he and Jack continued holding on to him.

"He's not going anywhere until he calms down. Look, I know what you're going through but you need to keep it together. You're reacting like this without having any confirmation that the victim really is Vicky or if she's at all connected to this case." Gabriel said harshly but Danny wouldn't listen to reason as he tried to get free from Jack and Martin's grips. "That's enough, Danny. Either get your crap together or I'll go above Malone and make sure you're taken into protective custody and away from this case. Is that what you want? Tell me," Gabriel said harshly as he grabbed Danny by the collar of his shirt, but then took a breath to cool his temper.

"I don't want to take you off this case, Danny. But even though this guy's behaving like a prick right now, he's right. You need to keep it together for Vicky. If she still is alive, we know that she doesn't have long before Cervantes' kills her." Jack warned seriously and Danny lowered his head, dejectedly.

"Let's go." Martin said compassionately fifteen minutes later after they managed to calm Danny and drove toward the scene.

The team arrived at Pier 25 twenty minutes later, making Danny even more upset as he saw the scene before him. The pier was closed off by yellow crime scene tape, dozens of law enforcement officers and FBI agents, crime scene investigators, the county coroner and his least favorite people, reporters. What caused his heart to leap out of his chest, however, was the large NYPD crime scene tent twenty feet away and the body that laid underneath it covered in a yellow tarp.

"Stay in the car." Martin said sternly as he got out of the car. "Watch him." He said seriously as he walked away with Gabriel and Jason, and Jack and Viv remained guarding the doors.

Danny watched helplessly from the car as Martin talked with the other officers and agents already at the scene. How had all this happened? He went from happily planning a proposal to possibly losing the love of his life at the hands of a sadistic lunatic who'd stalked, kidnapped and tortured her mercilessly. Was the woman lying underneath that yellow tarp his love Vicky? Just as that thought left his mind, Gabriel and Jason stood holding a white sheet, obstructing his view of the victim as Martin crouched on the ground.

Martin did this all the time. He was used to seeing the bodies of the victims and suspects that he and his colleagues couldn't save. It was also difficult when he had to notify a victim's family about what had occurred to their loved one. It was a difficult situation but he did his job and did what needed to be done without becoming emotional about it. But this was different. According to the other officers, the victim, who was terribly beaten, bruised, and missing her hands, bore a striking resemblance to Vicky's picture.

Martin's heart tightened in his chest. He didn't want the woman underneath that tarp to be Vicky. Vicky was his best friend's girlfriend and the only woman who'd truly ever made Danny happy. Sweet, beautiful Vicky had become a part of their family and he didn't want to see her haunting dead eyes staring back at him when he raised that yellow tarp. But he had a job to do. Just as he'd told Danny earlier, if this was Vicky, he didn't want to Danny to see her like this. If it was Vicky and Danny saw her, he knew that his friend would never recover.

"Martin, do you want us to…" Jason said gently but Martin shook his head as he took a shaky breath and took a hold of the yellow tarp with shaking hands.

Danny, Jack, and Viv watched anxiously from the car as Martin disappeared behind the sheet that Gabriel and Jason held open. A moment later, their hearts stopped beating momentarily when they saw the reaction of Gabriel, Jason, and several nearby officers as they covered their mouths with their arms and another officer threw up. As soon as they saw that, Jack held Danny's hand tightly in a brotherhood grip and Viv embraced him.

"Is it her? Tell me, damn it." Danny cried fearfully when Martin arrived at the car several minutes later.

"Calm down and breathe, brother. It's not her. It's not Vicky." Martin said with a shaky voice and then gripped Danny's face and head and forced Danny to look at him. "I told you that it's not her. It's not her, brother. So, breathe." He said sternly.

"I don't believe you, damn it. I want to see her myself." Danny cried angrily.

"There's nothing to see, alright. It's not Vicky. It's someone else. The victim has a huge tattoo of a tiger on her back and a scar on her right cheek. Vicky doesn't have tattoos or a scar on her face, does she? I know what Vicky looks like, Danny, we all do. Do you think that I'd lie to you right now if that was Vicky? What good would that do anyone? What I am going to tell you is that if we have any chance of bringing Vicky back home alive, we need the real FBI Agent, Danny Taylor, back. You're not helping Vicky or anyone else by behaving like this." Martin said sternly.

"If it wasn't Vicky, why then did all you react that way? Why did that cop throw up like he did?" Danny said angrily as he tried to calm down.

"It's not Vicky, Agent Taylor. The reason we reacted like that and why that rookie cop threw up, was because of the victim's condition. She was badly beaten, bruised, her hands and feet have been dismembered." Jason said and then motioned to Gabriel with his head.

"The victim wasn't Vicky, but we do believe that Cervantes or someone working for him, killed her. She had the words 'Say goodbye to sweet Vicky' carved into her chest and abdomen." Gabriel said seriously. "Taylor, this is our last chance to find and save Vicky. Get your act together or you're going to be responsible for us not getting her back alive. Is that what you want?" Gabriel said harshly. "Instead of sitting here with our thumb of our butts trying to calm you down and get you to do your job, we need to be out there looking for Cervantes' men. Cervantes is smart and he's not going to leave Vicky. But he will send accomplices to do his dirty work and if we can get them, we'll get Cervantes." Gabriel said seriously frustrated.

"Gabriel is right. If we can't get to him then we need to go after his men. We have to find them and make them talk." Jason said bothered.

"What do you say, Danny? Are you ready to end this once and for all? Are you ready to do your job and be the best damn agent we all know that you are?" Viv said sternly but compassionately as she held Danny's face in her hands.

"I swear to you that if we find Cervantes in time, you can do to him whatever the hell you want and nobody will get in your way. So, what do you say, Agent Taylor?" Jason said seriously but before Danny could answer his question, Jack's phone rang.

"Malone," Jack barked into the phone. "What? Where? Alright, I want you to take a team with you and pick him up. Don't let him get away. Do I make myself clear? If he does, it's your ass on the line. Right. Call me as soon as he's in custody." He said with a no-nonsense attitude and then ended the call, causing everyone to look at him expectantly.

"Who was that, Jack? What did they say?" Viv said concerned as she continued holding Danny.

"That was Chuck on the phone. Apparently, our homeless witness Teddy flagged down an NYPD officer and told him that a guy with a gun dragged a young woman into a nearby motel. He also told the officer that the same guy was wanted in connection with the kidnapped nurse that's all over the news." He said seriously but hopeful.

"Let's go. What are we still doing here?" Danny said irately.

"We're not going anywhere except back to headquarters. Chuck and Jeff are already on their way to the motel that the suspect is hold up in and there are also unmarked NYPD already there waiting for them.

"I want to talk to him." Danny said with determination as he gritted his teeth and fisted his hands.

"You'll get your chance but you won't be alone. I'm going in there to make sure you don't do something stupid like kill the bastard before he tells us where Cervantes is holding Vicky." Jack said with a no-nonsense tone that told Danny not to insist any further, and they headed back to headquarters as Gabriel and Jason followed behind in their patrol car.

Once at headquarters, Jack addressed the other agents and told them that Jeff and other agents were bringing in one of the suspects in Vicky's kidnapping. Jack was getting ready to assign the agents their tasks when all hell suddenly broke loose.

All of a sudden, the alarms began blaring and lights flashed throughout FBI headquarters. Unbeknownst to Jack and the other agents on the 12th floor, chaos was ensuing in the lobby; chaos that could tear the team apart forever. As soon as the alarms went off, Chuck's voice came through the radios frantically pleading for help in the lobby just as gunfire erupted. That was enough to send to send Jack, the rest of the team, and other agents running down the stairs with guns drawn.

When they arrived downstairs, it looked a war zone as several agents, including Jeff, lay bloodied on the ground.

"What the hell happened here?" Jack yelled harshly when he saw Jeff laying on the ground covered in a large pool of his own blood.

"Jeff's been shot and so have Ryder and Fletcher!" Chuck said urgently and fearfully of the other agents on his team. "We were transporting the suspect upstairs when he managed to grab Jeff's gun and shot him and the others. We already called for multiple ambulances. ETA less than 5 minutes." Chuck said urgently as he applied pressure to Jeff's chest.

"Jeff! Jeff, stay with me! We're not going to let you go, alright!" Jason said fearfully as he tightly held his cousin's hand, causing his eyes to widen in terror when he saw blood seeping from Jeff's belly and right leg. "Damn it! He's been hit in his chest, abdomen, and right leg!" He said fearfully and Jack and Martin began applying pressure to his wounds.

"Jas…" Jeff croaked, barely audible as he struggled to take a breath.

"Shhh. Don't talk, buddy. Save your strength. The ambulance is on its way to take you to the hospital where they can make you better. Then, once you're better, you're going to hit on all the pretty nurses that take care of you." Jason tried to sound confident but lost his cool when Jeff's eyes closed and his head lolled lifelessly to the side. "Jeff! Jeff!" He yelled horrified as tears stained his face.

"He's not breathing and I can't find a pulse!" Chuck said urgently as he and Gabriel began doing CPR over several tense minutes until paramedics arrived at the scene.

Several ambulances arrived at FBI Headquarters and began treating Jeff, Agent Ryder, and Agent Fletcher. All three were transported to St. Luke's Hospital in critical condition; but it was Jeff for whom the paramedics didn't hold out any hope of survival. When they left headquarters, he was lifeless even after being shocked several times to try to get him back. They arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later.

"What do we have, people?" Dr. Wes said seriously as he and his colleague Dr. Michael Cox took over Jeff's care.

"Federal agent, multiple GSWs to the chest, abdomen, and right leg. We've shocked him several times, finally got him back, only to lose him again. He's been down at least twenty minutes." The paramedic said urgently as they laid Jeff on a hospital stretcher.

"Wait a minute. We know this guy, Adam. He's a friend of Vicky's and her boyfriend. This is the guy that was here investigating when Vicky's locker was vandalized." Dr. Cox said urgently as they shocked Jeff twice and injected him with medications.

"Let me the hell go before I arrest your ass! That's my cousin in my there and nobody's going to keep me from being with him!" Jason yelled furiously as he ran into the treatment area. "Jeff!" He yelled fearfully.

"You need to leave this room now, Officer. You can't be in here right now." Dr. Wes said sternly.

"Like hell I'm leaving! I'm not going anywhere until I know that he's okay." Jason yelled angrily as he shook and tears stained his face.

Knowing that they weren't going to get rid of Jason, they left him alone and continued working on Jeff another ten minutes until they shocked him again. Just when the doctors were about to call time of death, the monitors began beeping slowly.

"Come on, Jeff. Come on. Wake up. You can do it. I know you can." Jason cried fearfully as he tightly held Jason's hand and the monitors began beeping stronger until there was a steady rhythm.

"He's back!" Dr. Cox said shocked and with a heavy sigh and Jason cried shaken. "I hate to say this but don't start celebrating just yet. He's in critical condition and it's still too early to know if he's going to make it." He warned seriously.

"Dr. Wes, they're ready for him upstairs." Nurse Rebecca Hill said respectfully as she got off the phone.

"What's going on? Where are you taking him?" Jason cried upset, he couldn't lose his cousin.

"We're taking him upstairs to surgery. We need to repair the damage caused by the gunshot wounds. Look, if you really want to help your cousin, we're going to need blood. He's lost nearly all the blood in his body. Go with Nurse Hill so that you can get tested and see if you're a match. He's O-positive." Dr. Wes said compassionately as they began wheeling Jason away.

"I'll start making some calls and let the other agents in the waiting room know what's going on. Please save him." Jason said with a heavy sigh as he soothed Jeff's hair and let go of his hand.

"We'll do everything we can and I'll let you know as soon as we know more about his condition. I promise." Dr. Cox said kindly as he gently squeezed Jason's shoulder. "Becky, stay with him, and while you're at it, get him some clean scrubs to change out of those bloody clothes."

After changing his clothes and giving blood, Nurse Hill led Jason back to the waiting room. When they arrived at the waiting room, Jason was taken aback because there were dozens of police officers and agents waiting for news.

"What's going on here?" Jason said shocked as tears rolled down his cheeks and Chuck embraced him tightly.

"I know that Jeff and the others lost a lot of blood and are probably going to need some. So, I made a call to headquarters. I also talked to Gabriel and he started calling in other officers. He says that there are more officers and agents coming over here soon and that he'll be here after they interrogate the suspect." Chuck said kindly but couldn't continue when Sam and Viv came running into the emergency room.

"Chuck, how is Jeff doing?" Viv said concerned.

"What about Ryder and Fletcher? How are they?" Sam asked concerned.

"They got Jeff back but the doctor doesn't know if he's going to make it. He was lifeless for over twenty minutes and he lost nearly all the blood in his body. He's in surgery right now but they need blood for him." Jason cried terribly upset as he held his head and Viv embraced him. "I can't believe this happening. I can't lose him."

"I know how bad things are but you can't give up on Jeff. He's strong and he's going to be okay. You'll see. Soon, he's going to be awake, hitting on all the good-looking nurses in the hospital." Viv said with conviction as she continued holding him.

"What about Ryder and Fletcher? Do you know anything about their conditions?" Sam asked gently of the agents from Chuck's team who were injured in the shooting.

"If you're referring to the other two agents who came in, they're upstairs in the ICU in serious but stable conditions. They need blood as well but the hospital's running low. So, if others can donate their blood it would be tremendous help to them." Nurse Hill said kindly and then turned to Jason. "I'm going to go upstairs to the operating room. If you need me for anything at all, let the young lady at front desk know and she'll find me. Excuse me." She said kindly as she gently squeezed Jason's arm and left.

_**FBI Headquarters…**_

"What do we know about this filthy maggot?" Jack said angrily as he looked into the interrogation room through the two-way mirror. He wanted nothing more than to give this guy what we deserved but he knew that it wouldn't do anything to get Vicky back safely.

"Suspect's name is Mitchell Solis. He's been charged with aggravated murder, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, witness intimidation, drug possession, aggravated sexual abuse, the list just goes on and on." Martin said seriously and then looked at Danny harshly when he growled furiously and fisted his hands. "Cut the crap, Danny. We all want nothing better than to kill the damn bastard for what he did to our guys and Vicky. But killing him isn't going to turn back time. Right now, he's our only chance of finding Vicky." He said harshly and Danny glared ferociously at him.

"I want a minute alone with him." Danny said calmly but angrily as he gritted his teeth and his lips twitched.

"Like hell you're going in there alone. I'm going in there with you and if you try anything stupid, I'll lock you up myself, in a holding cell. Let's go." Jack warned Danny as he held Danny by his collar, released him, and then they went into the interrogation room.

As soon as he saw Danny, Mitchell Solis began laughing sadistically and making obscene gestures to him.

"Do you know how much you're trouble in, Mitchell? You're looking at the death penalty for shooting those agents and kidnapping that teenage girl. We also have witnesses who'll testify in court that you're involved in the kidnapping of Vicky Rodriguez." Jack said eerily calm but the suspect only looked at Danny and smiled amused.

"What the hell are you smiling at?" Danny said heatedly as he got in Solis' face but moved back when Jack glared at him.

"How does it feel to know that it's your fault you'll never see your girlfriend alive again? It's your fault, Danny-boy. You're the one who put her in that cab with a killer." Solis sneered evilly. He was enjoying the look of guilt and agony in the agent's face. "Say goodbye to your little girlfriend, you filthy pig. She's as good as dead when I don't get back to the boss. You're never going to kiss those luscious lips again or hold that tight little body in your arms again." Solis spat viciously and with an evil sneer as he licked his lips. "You should hear squeal like the whore she is, begging the boss to kill her, every time he beats her. He won't kill her fast, though. He's going to enjoy every second he keeps her alive. Then, when he gets bored of her, he'll gladly give her what she so desperately wants." Solis said evilly as he enjoyed the look of horror on Danny's face.

Suddenly, Danny jumped on Mitchell Solis, began punching him in the face and kicking him as he let all the pain, anger and fear he felt for these animals boil over. He couldn't stop himself. All he wanted to do was kill this man and anyone who'd helped Cervantes ruin his life. First, they'd stalked and kidnapped his girlfriend and now had shot one of his best friends.

Jeff was rushed away by paramedics but they didn't hold out much hope for his survival. He'd been shot dead center in the chest, lost too much blood, and had no signs of life. That meant bad news for this animal. If his beloved girlfriend and his friend didn't have a chance, then he didn't deserve to live either. But before he managed to do more harm, Gabriel and Martin ran into the room and helped Jack to drag Danny off Solis.

Although in pain, Solis began laughing at Danny's reaction. But that laughter died soon enough, however, when he saw Gabriel. When he saw Gabriel, his eyes widened in terror as if he were looking at the devil himself.

"What's the matter, Mitch? Didn't think you'd ever see my face again?" Gabriel said calmly but viciously as he released Danny.

"How do you know this worthless animal?" Jack questioned seriously as he cuffed Danny's arms behind his back and Martin led him out of the room.

"This piece of garbage was one of the animals that brutally tortured my wife. He was serving life but escaped with Cervantes." Gabriel said seriously and then turned to Solis with a look of fury on his face. "I want you to give me five minutes with this guy." He said calmly and it sent a chill down Jack's spine.

"You've got five minutes. Get us what we need." Jack said kindly and then turned to leave the room but stopped when Solis yelled out to him.

"Stop! You can't leave me alone with this psychopath! That's illegal and you know it," Solis yelled angrily out of terror and his words caused Jack to chuckle incredulously.

"Illegal? Not only did you just shoot several of my agents, you also kidnapped an agent's girlfriend and murdered _**his**_ wife. You think I give a crap what he wants to do to you? You deserve whatever you got coming," Jack spat angrily as he grabbed Solis by the collar.

"Give me five minutes and while you're at it, get rid of the camera." Gabriel said eerily calm as he stood face to face with his wife's torturer, causing Solis to shake uncontrollably and soil himself when Jack left the room.

Gabriel paced the room back and forth for a minute until the surveillance camera's recording light turned off. Once he knew the camera was off, Gabriel began cracking his knuckles, removing his uniform shirt and his belt.

"What the hell are you doing?" Solis yelled fearfully and angrily.

"I don't want to get my uniform dirty when I get you talking. Because, Mitchell, you're going to talk. You're going to tell me everything I want to know, starting with where Cervantes is holding Vicky. You're going to tell me the location he's hold up in, the weapons he has, what his plans are, and more importantly, you're going to tell me whether Vicky is alive or dead. For your sake, though, she better still be alive or they'll never find your body again. Do you understand me? Start talking. Now!" Gabriel suddenly bellowed out in a deafening yell as he got in the suspect's face.

"Are you out of damn mind? I can't tell you anything! If Teo finds out I talked to you, he's going to kill me!" He yelled angrily and then coward in fear when Gabriel flipped over the table and held him by the throat.

"It's not Cervantes you have to be afraid of. It's me. So, start talking or I'm going to blow your damn brains out all over this room. You helped that son of a bitch torture and kill my wife and unborn child. Do you think you I give a damn about this badge? All I care about is justice, an eye for an eye. You've got ten seconds to tell me everything I want to know." Gabriel said full of venom as he cocked his gun and put it to Mitchell Solis' head. "10…9…8...7…6…5…4…3…"

"Stop! Please don't kill me! I'll tell you everything you want to know but please don't kill me!" Solis cried terribly frightened as he soiled himself again.

Jack and Martin had been watching the entire exchange through the mirror and were unsettled by Gabriel's behavior. At first, they were sure that he was only trying to scare the suspect into telling them about Cervantes' whereabouts but now they were starting to have their doubts.

"Why should I let you live even if you tell me what I want to know? Did you listen to my wife when she begged for her life and our unborn baby's life? No, you didn't. Well, you don't deserve mercy. You're a worthless excuse for a human being who ruins everyone's life who comes near you," Gabriel said furiously as tears escaped his eyes.

As soon they saw him, Jack and Martin ran into the room.

"Gabriel, what do you think you're doing? Put the gun down. He already agreed to talk." Martin said sternly and concerned. He tried to get near him but that led Solis to scream and cry muffled but in terror when Gabriel shoved the cocked gun in his mouth. "Stop, what the hell are you doing? You can't kill him, Gabriel. If you kill him, you'll be exactly like Cervantes. Do you really want to give everything up for him?" He said harshly.

"He doesn't deserve to live after what he did to them." Gabriel cried through gritted teeth.

"I know how you feel but it's not up to you whether he lives or dies. That's up to our justice system to decide." Jack said sternly but with compassionate undertones. "If you don't want to think about everything you'd be losing, think about your wife. What would she want? Do you think she'd want you to do this? Do you think she'd want you to ruin your life by killing him? This piece of filth deserves to rot in prison for the rest of his life, being someone's girlfriend. That's what's going to happen when the other prisoners find out what he did to a baby." Jack said compassionately but Gabriel growled violently.

"Gabriel, stop! If you kill him before he talks, we're never going to find Vicky or Cervantes. You said that you were going to do what it took to get her back to me. Are you going to be a coward and go back on your word? I'm the only one here who can understand what you're going through. But finding Vicky and that damn animal is the only thing I care about right now. Let him live and when Vicky's safe, you can do whatever the hell you want to Cervantes. I swear on my life. Please, please let him go, Gabriel." Danny pled crying as he stood handcuffed near the door. Danny didn't give a damn whether Solis lived or died, but right now, he was the only one who knew where the love of his life was being held.

"Start talking! Now!" Gabriel growled as he removed the gun the suspect's mouth, causing Solis to spew his guts all over the floor and cry uncontrollably as he nodded.

"Alright, I'll talk! I swear!" Solis cried badly shaken as he gave away Cervantes' location, his accomplices and detailed the large arsenal of weapons and explosives in his possession. "You don't have much time. The part about the ransom was just a ruse. He's going to kill your girlfriend just like he killed the other girl we tossed in the Hudson." He cried shaking.

"If we don't make it to her on time, you won't live to regret it." Gabriel warned as he tightly held him by the hair and then released him.

"That's enough. Let's go." Jack said sternly as he and Martin dragged Gabriel and Danny out of the room.

"I'm going with you, Jack. You can lock me up or fire me later, after I know that Vicky's safe." Danny said with determination as he stared Jack down.

"The only place you're going is a damn holding cell, downstairs. I warned you not to do anything stupid and you nearly killed the bastard." Jack warned harshly as he dragged Danny to the bullpen and began addressing the other agents. "Alright, listen up. The suspect confessed and gave up our kidnapper's location." He said loudly and gave everyone their orders.

"Take these damn cuffs off me, Jack! I'm going!" Danny yelled angrily as he struggled to get free.

"Come on, Malone. Take the cuffs off. Danny has every right to try to save his girlfriend and capture that murderer." Gabriel said with conviction but couldn't continue when Jack's phone rang."

"Malone." Jack said gruffly and then his face paled as he listened intently to the person on the other end. "Right. We already have Cervantes' and Vicky's location. You stay there for now and let me know when you know something else." He said with a heavy sigh as he ended the call.

"Who is that? What happened now?" Martin asked concerned as he got a sick feeling in his stomach.

"That was Chuck. Jeff is…" Jack sighed heavily and couldn't continue as he held his head.


End file.
